LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


OF 


GEORGE    READ. 


•  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 


OF 


GEORGE     READ 


WITH 


NOTICES  OF  SOME  OF  HIS  CONTEMPORARIES. 


BY   HIS    GRANDSON 

WILLIAM  THOMPSON  HEAD. 


PHILADELPHIA : 

J.   B.   LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 
1870. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 
WILLIAM  T.  BEAD, 

In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  "Washington. 


TO   THE 

CITIZENS  OF  THE  STATE  OF  DELAWARE 


THE 


LIFE  OF  GEOEGE  EEAD, 

A  SIGNER  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE, 


BY  THE  AUTHOR. 


225845 


PREFACE. 


IN  the  year  1821  the  author  of  the  "  Life  of  George  Read,"  at  the 
request  of  the  heads  of  his  family,  wrote  a  "  Sketch"  of  his  life  for  the 
"Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,"  then 
being  published,  which,  being  approved  by  them,  was  printed  in  the 
third  volume  of  that  work.  Upon  the  decease  of  the  father  of  the 
author,  in  1836,  the  papers  of  George  Read  came  into  his  possession. 
A  careful  examination  of  these  papers  showed  that  the  sketch  of  Mr. 
Read's  life  was  an  imperfect  and  inadequate  record  of  his  services  and 
character.  The  author  felt  it  to  be  his  duty  to  attempt  a  fuller  one,  but 
shrunk  from  the  task,  diffident  of  his  ability  to  execute  it  as  he  wished 
it  to  be  executed,  and  was  diverted  from  it  by  duties  and  avocations 
which  could  not  be  put  aside,  until  a  recent  period,  when,  warned  by 
his  near  approach  to  the  ordinary  term  of  human  life,  he  felt  that  this 
attempt,  if  to  be  made  by  him,  could  no  longer  be  deferred.  Besides 
the  papers  of  Mr.  Read,  above  mentioned,  letters — valuable  materials 
of  this  work — have  been  obtained  and  incorporated  in  it.  Mr.  Read's 
correspondence  comprises  letters  of  the  most  eminent  of  his  contem 
poraries,  now  first  published,  except  eight  printed  in  the  "Sketch"  of 
his  life,  in  the  "Biography  of  the  Signers."  The  author  considered  it 
impracticable  to  write  the  life  of  Mr.  Read  as  he  thought  it  ought  to  be 
attempted,  without  writing  at  the  same  time,  to  some  extent  at  least, 
the  history  of  the  deeply-interesting  period  with  which,  as  a  public 
man,  Mr.  Read  was  closely  connected ;  but,  as  well  he  might,  recoiled 
from  repeating  the  narrative  of  events  familiar  to  all,  and  which  he 
could  not  even  hope  to  invest  with  interest. 

The  letters  of  Mr.  Read's  eminent  contemporaries  seemed  to  require, 
while  they  gave  opportunity  for,  the  brief  notices  of  their  writers  in 
these  pages,  and  it  appeared  to  be  a  duty  to  preserve  facts  which 

(vii) 


viii  PEE  FACE. 

might  be  valuable  for  the  history  of  Delaware  yet  to  be  written. 
Opinions  of  men,  of  measures,  of  events,  and  on  questions  which 
claimed  consideration,  have  been  expressed  in  this  book,  the  author 
will  not  dare  to  assert  without  error,  but,  where  he  has  erred,  without 
intentional  injustice.  The  meagre  sketch  in  the  "Biography  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence"  has  been  expanded  to 
this  volume,  which,  with  this  necessary  preface,  is  submitted  to  the 
public. 

NEW  CASTLE,  DELAWARE, 

November  15th,  1870. 


LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


OF 


GEORGE    HEAD. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Mr.  Read's  birth — Account  of  his  parents — Their  removal  from  Maryland  to 
Delaware — His  education — His  school-fellows — Dr.  Allison — He  commences  the 
study  of  the  law — Mr.  Moland — His  confidence  in  Mr.  Read — Mr  Read's  ad 
mission  to  the  bar — His  letter  to  his  parents  as  to  his  settlement — Relinquishes 
his  right  to  a  double  portion  of  his  father's  estate — The  law  as  to  double  portion 
— Settles  in  New  Castle,  and  practises  in  the  three  lower  counties  <  11  Delaware, 
and  one  or  more  in  Pennsylvania — His  competitors— Succeeds  John  Ross  as 
Attorney-General — Resigns  attorney-generalship  in  1774 — Eminent  as  a  special 
pleader — His  influence  great — His  almanacs  and  bets — Letter  from  ,J  ohn  Dickin 
son  to  Mr.  Read — Notice  of  John  Dickinson's  first  speech,  and  oi'  Galloway's 
reply  thereto,  and  of  the  prefaces  to  these  speeches — Mr.  Read's  marriage,  and 
notice  of  Mrs.  Read — Mr.  Dickinson's  congratulatory  letter  to  him  on  his 
marriage — Mr.  Read  elected  to  the  General  Assembly  of  Delaware — Applies  for 
the  office  of  collector  of  New  Castle,  and  fails  to  receive  it — His  letters  and 
those  of  Franklin — Letters  of  Mr.  Neave  on  the  troubles  of  the  mother-country 
and  her  colonies,  and  part  of  rough  draft  of  a  letter  of  Mr.  Read  in  reply — Letter 
of  Mr.  Wharton — Mr.  Read's  farm — Colonel  Bedford — His -marriage  with  Mr. 
Read's  sister — Colonel  Read — Mr.  Read  advocates  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
— His  rules  to  preserve  health — Result  of  election  in  1769 — Colonial  lotteries, 
and  remarks  on  the  subject  of  lotteries — Correspondence  of  Mr.  Read  with  his 
brothers — Notice  of  Captain  Thomas  Read — Frigate  Alliance — Appendix  A, 
notice  of  John  Ross — Appendix  B,  roll  of  militia  company,  1757 — Appendix  C, 
notice  of  Rev.  George  Ross — Appendix  D,  notice  of  John  Dickinson — Appendix 
E,  Thomas  Read. 

GEORGE  READ  was  born  in  Cecil  County,  in  the  Province 
of  Maryland,  September  18th,  in  the  year  1733,  and  was 
the  eldest  of  six  brothers.  His  father,  John  Read,  was  the 
son  of  a  wealthy  citizen  of  Dublin,  and  having  emigrated 
to  America,  settled  in  Cecil  County,  where  he  became 
a  respectable  planter.  Soon  after  the  birth  of  his  eldest 
son  he  removed  to  New  Castle  County,  in  the  Province  of 
Delaware,  and  established  himself  on  the  head-waters  of 
the  Christiana  River. 

The  parents  of  Mr.  Read  determined,  at  an  early  period, 
to  confer  such  an  education  on  their  son  as  would  enable 

2  (9) 


10  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

him  to  pursue  one  of  the  learned  professions.  The  small 
number  of  schools  was  at  that  period  a  serious  obstacle  to 
the  dissemination  of  knowledge.  The  nearest  reputable 
seminary  to  the  residence  of  Mr.  Read's  parents  was  at 
Chester,  in  the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  where  he  was 
taught  the  rudiments  of  the  learned  languages.  From  this 
school  he  was  removed  to  New  London,  in  the  same  Prov 
ince,  and  placed  under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Allison,  a 
man  eminently  qualified  for  the  arduous  task  of  imparting 
instruction  to  youth.  Deeply  versed  in  the  dead  languages, 
his  mind  was  free  from  the  alloy  too  often  mingled  with 
the  pure  gold  of  classic  lore;  he  explored  the  mazes  of 
science,  in  solitary  study,  without  being  ignorant  of  the 
world,  without  despising  the  beauties  of  elegant  literature, 
and  without  neglecting  the  decencies  of  society.  His 
knowledge  of  human  nature  enabled  him  quickly  to  dis 
cern  the  bent  of  a  pupil's  genius,  his  master  vice,  and 
dominant  foible.* 

Among  the  fellow-pupils  of  Mr.  Read  were  Charles 
Thomson,  Secretary  of  Congress,  Hugh  Williamson,*)*  a 
member  of  that  body  from  North  Carolina,  and  Dr.  Ewing, 
Provost  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  eminent  as  a 
mathematician  and  astronomer.  The  meeting,  in  after-life, 
of  the  first  three  of  these  distinguished  men  must,  under 
any  circumsta-nces,  have  been  pleasing,  but  to  meet,  as  it 
occurred  in  the  present  instance,  in  the  American  Congress 
of  1774,  a  body  endued  with  Roman  spirit  and  Roman  vir 
tue,  and  political  knowledge  such  as  no  Roman  ever  attained, 
— to  meet  in  that  illustrious  assembly  the  guardian  of  the 
rights  of  three  millions  of  their  fellow-men,  must  have  been 
to  them  a  source  of  deep-felt  gratification. 

Mr.  Read  diligentlyj  pursued  his  studies,  under  the  care 


*  "  Dr.  Francis  Allison  was  afterwards  Vice-Provost  and  Professor 
of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  justly 
entitled,  from  his  talents,  learning,  and  discipline,  the  Jtusby  of  the 
Western  Hemisphere."  —  Hosack's  Biographical  Memoir  of  lluyh 
Williamson,  in  the  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
p.  131,  vol.  iii. 

•(•  Volume  iii.  Collections  of  Xew  York  Historical  Society,  p.  132. 

J  So  diligently,  or  rather  ardently,  that,  as  his  sister,  Mrs.  Bedford, 
related,  when  his  candle  was  taken  from  him  at  bedtime,  he  studied  his 
grammar-lesson  by  fire-light. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  11 

of  Dr.  Allison,  until  his  fifteenth  year,  at  which  early  age 
he  was  removed  from  school,  and,  on  the  28th  day  of  Sep 
tember,  1749,  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  with  John 
Moland,  Esquire,  an  eminent  lawyer  of  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia.  An  education  terminated  at  so  early  a  period  of 
life,  must,  necessarily,  have  been  incomplete;  but  the  dis 
advantage  of  being  forced  into  the  world  with  a  scanty 
stock  of  knowledge  was  common  to  his  contemporaries, 
who,  having  their  bread  to  earn,  because  their  parents  had 
large  families  and  moderate  estates,  entered  on  the  study  and 
practice  of  professions  at  ages  which  must  have  appeared 
to  Europeans  immature  indeed.  Mr.  Read  actively  applied 
himself  to  the  study  of  his  profession.  It  required  more  in 
tense  application  at  that  period  than  it  does  at  present  to 
qualify  a  young  man  for  admission  to  the  bar.  The  student 
was  not  then  assisted  by  digests,  abridgments,  and  excellent 
elementary  treatises  on  every  ramification  of  the  law.  The 
great  toil  which  at  that  day  was  requisite  to  the  attainment 
of  legal  knowledge  was  best  calculated  to  form  habits  on 
which  were  founded  the  most  certain  presages  of  eminence 
at  the  bar  and  erudition  on  the  bench.  Hence  Mr.  Read 
was  conspicuous  in  after-life  for  research  and  accuracy,  and 
the  margins  of  almost  every  book  in  the  extensive  law- 
library  he  possessed  are  covered  with  his  notes,  so  true  it  is 
that  the  foundation  of  industrious  habits  is  always  laid  in 
early  life.  The  confidence  reposed  by  Mr.  Moland  in  the 
abilities,  integrity,  and  steadiness  of  his  young  student  was 
so  great  that  long  before  his  apprenticeship  expired  he 
intrusted  him  with  his  docket,  and  confided  to  him  all  his 
attorney's  business.  Indeed,  the  talents,  industry,  zeal,  and 
uprightness  of  Mr.  Read,  while  in  the  office  of  Mr.  Moland, 
generated  an  attachment  towards  his  pupil  stronger  and 
more  permanent  than  the  relation  of  lawyer  and  student 
usually  produces.  Mr.  Moland  in  his  will  enjoined  his 
family  to  consult  Mr.  Read  on  all  occasions  of  difficulty, 
and  to  repose  implicit  confidence  in  his  advice.*  John 

*  It  may  be  inferred  from  the  following  letter  that  this  injunction  was 
obeyed  : 

"  SIR, — I  assure  you,  I  seldom  take  a  pen  in  my  hand  but  it  is  to  give 
some  of  my  friends  trouble.  I  have  teased  good  Mr.  Dickinson  till  he 
is  weary  of  me;  and  now,  to  make  a  beginning  with  you,  1  send,  in 
closed,  a  parcel  of  notes  of  hand,  to  see  if  you  can  get  the  money  [due 


12  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Dickinson  was  one  of  his  fellow  students,  and  the  friendship 
contracted  between  the  young  men,  nurtured  by  the  recip 
rocation  of  good  offices  and  growing  conviction  of  each 
other's  worth,  was  only  interrupted  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
Read,  a  few  years  anterior  to  the  decease  of  the  distin 
guished  author  of  the  "Farmers'  Letters."  In  a  letter  to 
Messrs.  Read  and  Wharton,  without  date,  but  written  by 
Mr.  Dickinson  just  before  he  embarked  for  England,  whither 
he  went  to  complete  (in  the  "Temple")  the  study  of  the  law, 
and  while  Mr.  Read  was  yet  in  Mr.  Moland's  office,  and 
therefore  before  or  early  in  1753,  Mr.  Dickinson  takes  a 
most  affectionate  leave  of  his  late  associates.  He  is  evidently 
much  excited  and  elated  by  the  prospect  of  his  voyage,  and 
if  passages  of  the  letter  be  written  with  undue  levity,  his 
youth  and,  circumstanced  as  he  was,  almost  unavoidable 
exhilaration  may  excuse  it,  and  a  warm  and  kindly  feeling  for 
Mr.  Read  and  other  friends  pervades  it,  which  exhibits  him 
very  advantageously.  He  begs  to  be  remembered  to  Groves, 
Oldinan,  and  other  friends  who  may  inquire  for  him,  and 
especially  to  Mr.  Moland  and  family;  and  in  the  postscript 
asks  his  friend  to  order  the  printer's  boy  to  leave  his  paper 
with  the  "sheriff"  I  may  be  pardoned  for  a  brief  notice 
of  this  letter,  as  it  is  the  first  of  the  letters  of  this  eminent 
man  to  Mr.  Read  found  among  his  papers,  and  covering  a 
period  of  more  than  forty  years. 

It  appears  from  the  following  letter  written  by  Mr.  Read, 
at  Philadelphia,  to  his  parents,  June  27th,  1753,  that  he 
had  then  been  admitted  to  the  bar : 

"  HONORED  PARENTS, — In  discoursing  with  Mr.  Moland 
lately,  I  told  him  my  intention  [of]  settling  at  New  Castle, 
but  lie  seemed  to  think  it  would  be  better  staying  here,  and 

upon  them].     If  my  papa  has  received  any  money  upon  these  notes, 
there  will  certainly  be  receipts  to  show  such  payments. 

"I  dare  say,  as  Mr.  Read  has  always  professed  a  friendship  for  our 
family,  he  will  be  pleased  to  hear  how  we  go  on  in  this  troublesome 
world,  but  I  will  leave  that  to  Mr.  Dickinson,  and  have  no  doubt  but  he 
will  tell  you.  And  now  give  me  leave  to  join  with  mamma  in  wishing 
you  many  very  happy  years. 

"  E.  MOLAND. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  January  29th,  1762." 

On  the  back  of  this  letter  is  written,  "Miss  Betsy  Moland's  letter, 
now  Ladv  St.  Clair." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  13 

attending  as  many  of  the  courts  in  this  Province,  together 
with  New  Castle,  as  I  might  think  convenient,  and  that  he 
would  assist  me  all  that  lay  in  his  power, — he  intending  to 
decline  Lancaster  and  New  Castle.  His  Lancaster  business 
he  has  resigned  to  me  already,  which  will  be  of  great  service 
in  introducing  me  to  his  clients  and  the  people  in  general, 
and  I  suppose  I  shall  attend  the  August  court  at  Lancaster, 
and  also  at  New  Castle.  His  reasons  for  my  not  settling  at 
NewCastle  were  that  the  county  was  poor,  and  not  able  to 
support  more  of  the  fraternity  than  were  in  it  already,  and 
not  fit  for  any  person  [to]  live  in,  but  I  might  by  attending 
there  make  near  as  much  as  if  settled ;  and,  by  my  going  from 
hence  I  should  lose  the  acquaintance  I  had  acquired,  and 
get  quite  out  of  knowledge.  That  while  I  thought  proper 
to  stay  in  Philadelphia,  I  should  be  welcome  to  his  table 
and  my  lodgings,  as  at  present,  but  at  the  same  time  would 
not  advise  or  persuade  me  to  go  or  stay,  bat  would  leave  me 
entirely  at  my  own  disposal,  as  he  thought  it  difficult  to  tell 
what  might  be  most  for  my  advantage.  I  think,  under  the 
circumstances,  it  would  be  prudent  to  follow  his  advice,  at 
least  for  awhile,  to  see  how  matters  will  answer,  as  it  will 
undoubtedly  be  in  his  power  to  assist  me  both  in  this  and 
the  other  counties  in  the  Province.  But  you  will  be  pleased 
to  let  me  know  your  sentiments  in  this  respect  as  soon  as  it 
shall  be  convenient,  and  you  will  very  much  oblige 
"Your  loving  and  obedient  son, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"Mr.  JOHN  READ,  Christeen  Bridge." 

By  then  existing  laws  of  Maryland  and  the  "  Three  Lower 
Counties  on  Delaware"  Mr.  Read  was  entitled  to  a  double 
portion  of  his  father's  property.*  His  first  act  after  his  ad 
mission  to  the  bar  was  to  relinquish,  by  deed,  all  claim  on 

*  This  right  to  a  double  portion  was  anciently  peculiar  to  the  Jews. 
(2d  Blaekstone's  Commentaries,  p.  214  ;  Tucker's  edition,  chap,  xiv., 
Of  Title  by  Descent,  Rule  3.)  In  Deuteronomy,  xxi.  17,  it  is  declared 
to  be  the  right  of  the  first-born,  and  was  his  in  the  patriarchal  age,  to 
support  his  dignity  as  the  ruler  of  his  family,  and,  probably,  its  priest. 
It  was  the  law  in  Delaware,  as  to  personal  estate,  from  1683  to  IV 42, 
and  as  to  real,  from  1683,  when  it  \vas,  as  far  as  appears,  first  enacted 
as  to  both,  till  January  29th,  1794,  when  it  was  repealed.  Appendix, 
Delaware  Laws,  vol.  i.  p  16,  etc.,  arid  Delaware  Laws,  vol.  i.  chap.  cxix. 
a,  p.  119.  It  was  also,  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  the  law  in  New 


14  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

his  father's  estate,*  assigning  as  the  reason  for  this  relin- 
quishment  that  he  had  received  his  full  portion  in  the  ex 
penses  incurred  by  his  education,  and  it  would  be  a  fraud 
upon  his  brothers  not  to  renounce  his  legal  right. 

In  the  year  1754f  he  settled  in  New  Castle,  and  com 
menced  the  practice  of  the  law,  in  the  then  three  lower 
counties  on  Delaware,  and  the  adjacent  ones  of  Maryland. 
He  found  himself  in  the  midst  of  powerful  competitors, 
men  of  undoubted  talents  and  able  lawyers,  among  whom 
were  John  Ross,  then  Attorney-General. J  Benjamin  Chew, 
Joseph  Galloway.  §  George  Ross,||  John  Dickinson,  and 
Thomas  McKean.  To  have  rapidly  obtained  full  practice 
among  such  competitors  is  of  itself  sufficient  praise.^[  On 


England,  New  Jersey,  and  Pennsylvania, — Hildreth's  History  of  the 
United  States,  vol.  Hi.  p.  388. 

*  Part  of  which  was  a  farm  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres,  with  a 
spacious  brick  house,  and  barn,  and  other  buildings  and  conveniences 
adjacent  to  Christiana  Bridge,  with  a  store-house  and  wharf  used  as  a 
landing,  from  whence  an  extensive  trade  was  long  carried  on  with  Phila 
delphia  and  other  places.  John  Read  died  in  1750,  aged  sixty-eight 
years,  and  his  wife,  Mary  Hoxvel,  September  22d,  1784,  in  the  seventy- 
fourth  year  of  her  age.  Both  are  interred  in  the  Presbyterian  burying- 
ground  of  Christiana,  and  have  substantial  marble  monuments  over 
them. 

f  In  an  almanac  for  1754,  which  I  found  among  his  papers,  is  this 
entry  in  his  handwriting,  "Came  to  New  Castle  Gth  March,  1754." 

J  See-Appendix  A. 

§  "  Of  Galloway's  manner  I  have  no  personal  knowledge.  From 
inspection  of  the  docket,  his  practice  appears  to  have  been  extensive. 
He  adhered  to  the  royal  cause,  and  migrated  to  England,  where,  after 
exciting  considerable  public  attention  by  his  attacks  on  the  conduct  of 
Sir  William  Ho\ve,  in  America,  he  remained  till  his  death." — Raiders 
Recollections  of  the  Philadelphia  Bar ;  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadel 
phia,  pp.  267,  2G8. 

||  "  The  talents  of  George  Koss  were  much  above  mediocrity.  His 
manner  was  insinuating  and  persuasive,  accompanied  with  a  species  of 
pleasantry  and  habitual  good  humor.  His  knowledge  of  law  was  suffi 
cient  to  obtain  respect  from  the  court,  and  his  familiar  manner  secured 
the  attention  of  the  jury.  But  he  was  not  industrious,  and  his  career, 
after  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  was  short"  He  was  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. — Raided  Recollections; 
Watson's  Annals,  p.  270. 

^  "  But  in  those  times  the  sphere  of  the  lawyer  was  somewhat  limited. 
In  the  provincial  courts  no  great  questions  of  international  law  were  dis 
cussed.  There  were  no  arguments  upon  the  construction  of  treaties, 
and  no  comparison  of  legislative  powers  with  constitutional  restrictions. 
Even  admiralty  cases  had  little  interest.  Everything  great  and  im- 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  15 

the  30th  of  April,  1763,*  he  succeeded  John  Ross  as  At 
torney-General  for  the  three  lower  counties  on  Delaware. 
He  was  the  first  Attorney-General  expressly  appointed  for 
these  counties,  as  before  this  period  the  Attorney-General 
of  Pennsylvania  was  the  prosecuting  officer  in  Delaware. 
Mr.  Read  held  this  office  until  soon  after  he  was  elected  a 
delegate  to  the  Congress  of  1774,  when,  believing  it  incom 
patible  with  the  right  discharge  of  the  arduous  duties  of  a 
representative  in  that  august  body  that  he  should  continue 
to  be  trammeled  by  an  office  held  under  his  Britannic 
Majesty,  he  resigned  it. 

Mr.  Read  was  particularly  eminent  as  a  deep-read  lawyer, 
and  he  was  versed  in  special  pleading,  the  logic  of  the  law. 
His  elocution  was  neither  flowery  nor  rapid,  unlike  that  of 
one  of  his  ancestors,  who,  as  I  have  heard  from  my  father, 
was  styled  "silver-tongued  McMullin;"  on  the  contrary,  he 
was  somewhat  slow  in  his  speech,  and  negligent  in  his 
manner;f  but  his  profound  legal  knowledge,  his  solidity  of 
judgment,  and  his  habit  of  close  and  clear  reasoning,  gave 
him  an  influence  with  juries  and  judges  which  the  graces 
of  the  most  finished  oratory  would  have  failed  to  gain  for 
him.  His  conclusions  were  always  founded  upon  calm  and 
cautious  deliberation,  and  seldom  led  him  into  error.  His 
legal  knowledge  and  judgment  were  so  conspicuous  that  his 
opinions  were  in  high  and  general  estimation,  and  he  had 
given  such  evidences  of  his  integrity  that  he  was  called  the 
"  honest  lawyer." 

There  are  a  number  of  Mr.  Read's  "Almanacs"  among 
his  papers,  in  size  very  small, — about  four  inches  by  two. 
In  that  of  1779  I  find  noted  several  works  of  science  and 
literature,  no  doubt  for  purchase  as  he  might  have  oppor 
tunity,  and  the  terms  of  membership  of  the  Philadelphia 
Library  Company, — from  which  I  infer  that  his  reading  was 
not  that  of  the  mere  lawyer.  In  the  "Almanac"  of  1758 

posing  was  reserved  for  the  mother-country." — Rawle's  Recollections  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Bar  before  tire  Revolution,  p.  267. 

*  In  an  almanac,  found  among  his  papers,  for  1769,  is  this  memoran 
dum:  "At  a  levy  court  of  Kent,  held  14th  November,  1768,  George 
Read,  as  Attorney-General,  was  allowed  for  his  past  services  £70,  and 
for  the  ensuing  year,  £15." 

f  Showing  his  picture  to  an  aged  neighbor,  he  remarked,  "  I  have 
often,  when  young,  heard  Mr.  Read  speak."  "  He  was  slow,"  said  I. 
"Yes,"  answered  he,  "but  sure." 


16  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

he  notes  a  bet  of  John  Vangezel  with  him,  "that  the  Island 
Buttery  is  in  possession  of  the  English  on  Sunday,  the  18th 
of  that  month,"  and  on  the  llth  of  August,  a  bet  with 
Charles  Gordon,  "that  we  do  not  hear  of  the  surrender  of 
Cape  Breton  by  this  day  week."  The  British  army,  under 
General  Arnherst,  effected  a  landing  on  the  island  of  Cape 
Breton  June  8th,  and  in  a  few  days  invested  Louisbourg. 
A  very  severe  fire  was  maintained  against  the  besiegers 
from  the  town  and  from  the  battery  at  Light-house  Point, 
on  the  northeast  side  of  the  entrance  of  the  harbor.  On 
the  morning  of  June  12th,  an  hour  before  dawn,  General 
Wolfe  was  detached  with  two  thousand  men  (light  infantry 
and  Highlanders)  to  seize  that  post,  which  he  took  by  sur 
prise,  the  enemy  abandoning  it  on  his  approach,  and  a  number 
of  smaller  works  were  successfully  carried.  Several  strong 
batteries  were  erected  on  this  point,  from  which  the  ships 
in  the  harbor  of  Louisbourg  were  greatly  annoyed.  Louis 
bourg  capitulated  July  27th:*  so  that  Mr.  Vangezel  won, 
while  I  think  it  almost  certain,  as  there  were  neither  elec 
tric  telegraphs,  nor  railroads  with  their  locomotives,  at  that 
day,  but  intelligence  was  very  slowly  transmitted,  Mr.  Gor 
don  lost  his  bet.  These  entries  in  the  "Almanac"  carry 
us  back  almost  a  hundred  years,  and  set  us  down  in  the 
groups  of  colonial  quidnuncs,  anxiously  discussing  the  then 
engrossing  topic, — the  expedition  against  the  French  pos 
session,  Cape  Breton, — -just  as  quidnuncs  are  disputing  and 
betting  now  upon  the  invasion  of  the  Crimea,  and  the  siege 
of  Sebastopol;  and  a  hundred  years  hence,  I  am  afraid, 
they  will  not  be  without  a  similar  subject  of  speculation/)" 
Mr.  Dickinson  writes  to  him  as  follows  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  October  1st,  1762. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  took  the  liberty,  a  few  days  ago,  to  make 
you  a  troublesome  request  to  try  a  cause  between  Williams 
and  Humphries,  Huested  and  Boles,  and  another  between 

*  Smollett's  History  of  England,  vol.  ii.  pp.  387,  388,  389 ;  Holmes's 
Annals,  vol.  ii.  pp.  80,  81  ;  Bancroft's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol. 
iv.  p.  297. 

•j"  That  Mr.  Read  partook  of  the  martial  spirit  at  this  time  pervading 
many,  if  not  all,  of  the  North  American  Colonies,  I  infer  from  finding-  his 
name  in  the  roll  of  the  militia  company  subjoined  to  this  chapter,  Ap 
pendix  B.  When  the  above  paragraph  was  written  the  war  in  the 
Crimea  was  in  progress. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  17 

Dennis  and  Campbell,  at  your  adjourned  court,  as  I  shall 
be  prevented  from  attending  by  several  causes  of  conse 
quence  in  our  Supreme  Court,  to  be  tried  at  that  time.  My 
letter,  with  a  short  state  of  each  case,  I  presume  you  have 
received,  and  hope  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  favour  me  with 
an  answer. 

"  Another  request  I  have  to  make  to  you  is  that  you  will, 
if  you  approve  of  it,  propose  the  inclosed  law*  to  the  Assem 
bly,  at  the  next  session,  as  useful  and  necessary  to  be  passed. 

"It  is  almost  an  exact  copy  of  the  Pennsylvania  law  to 
this  purpose,  and  I  wonder  how  it  has  been  so  long  neglected. 
My  reason  for  desiring  this  law  to  pass  is  that  I  know  it  will 
contribute  to  the  advancement  of  justice,  particularly  in  one 
instance,  and  I  believe  every  Colony  besides  yours  has  made 
provision  in  such  cases. 

"I  assure  you,  upon  my  honor,  that  I  have  not  the  least 
interest  in  promoting  such  a  bill.  But  I  know  some  persons 
would  industriously  oppose  it  if  they  could  find  out  that  my 
head  or  hand  or  even  my  little  finger  had  been  employed  in 
framing  it. 

"I  am  imagine  modicum  rnanet  alta  in  mente  repositum. 

"I  shall,  therefore,  be  greatly  obliged  to  you  if  you  will 
be  so  good  as  to  entirely  suppress  my  name. 

"You  can  introduce  the  matter  very  well  by  mentioning 
the  propriety  of  such  a  law  to  our  worthy  friend,  Mr.  Yan- 
bebber,  who,  as  a  judge,  may,  with  great  consistence  of 
character,  desire  leave  to  bring  in  such  a  bill;  so  might  Mr. 
Rice.  I  don't  know  which  has  most  influence  in  the  House. 

"You  may  congratulate  me  on  my  salvation,  for  I  am, 
certainly,  among  the  elect,  and  may  enter  into  the  Assembly 
of  righteous  men. 

"My  pleasure  is  that  this  happens  without  opposition,  or 
the  discontent  of  those  I  esteem,  which  I  regard  as  a  great 
happiness.  Mr.  S.  W made  a  candid,  manly  declara 
tion  of  his  reasons  for  opposing  me  last*  year,  which  were 
the  same  you  once  mentioned  to  me,  and  I  think  sufficient. 
It  would  have  given  me  great  pain  to  have  been  the  occasion 

of  uneasiness  to  a  man  I  so  much  respect  as  I  do  Mr.  B . 

But  now  I  flatter  myself  with  coming  in  with  the  general 
approbation  of  good  men. 

*  What  this  law  was  does  not  appear,  the  draught  inclosed  in  this 
letter  not  being  with  it. 


18  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"We  have  received  a  disagreeable  piece  of  news  by  the 
way  of  New  York,  that  the  Emperor  of  Russia  is  dethroned, 
and,  what  is  still  more  extraordinary,  that  imperial  author 
ity  is  conferred  on  his  consort. 

"  We  expect  particulars  every  moment.  If  this  is  true, 
who,  in  his  senses,  would  take  those  great  blessings — an 
empress  and  a  wife  together  ?  Is  it  not  tetter  to  receive  a 
subsidy  from  an  honest  farmer  to  recover  his  wheat-field 
from  some  usurping  neighbor,  and  march  gallantly  at  the 
head  of  four-and-twenty  jurymen  to  attack  him  in  the  re 
doubts  of  his  forcible  detainer,  than  to  make  half  Europe 
turn  pale  with  letting  loose  thirty  thousand  Russians  to 
secure  Silesia  to  the  King  of  Prussia? 

"  I  confess  I  should  like  to  make  an  immense  bustle  in  the 
world,  if  it  could  be  made  by  virtuous  actions.  But,  as  there 
is  no  probability  of  that,  I  am  content  if  I  can  live  innocent 
and  beloved  by  those  I  love,  in  the  first  class  of  whom  you 
are  always  esteemed  by,  dear  sir,  your  most  affectionate 
friend  and  very  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"Please  to  have  the  law  copied  over,  lest  my  clerk's  hand 
should  be  known." 

Mr.  Dickinson's  desire  of  distinction,  so  playfully  ex 
pressed,  honorable  and  generous  because  to  be  won  by  vir 
tuous  actions,  was  to  be  gratified  sooner  than  he  probably 
anticipated.  His  election,  announced  in  the  foregoing  letter, 
introduced  him  into  the  political  arena  under  highly  favor 
able  circumstances.  Having  devoted  to  severe  study  those 
years  which  too  many  waste  in  dissipation,  he  showed  him 
self,  at  his  first  entrance  on  public  life,  possessed  of  a  knowl 
edge  of  the  laws  and  constitution  of  his  country  which 
seldom  falls  to  the  share  of  gray  hairs,  and  had  the  great 
advantage  of  independence  of  spirit  and  fortune.*  His 
first  laurels  were  won  by  his  speechf  against  the  proposed 

*  Preface  to  the  Speech,  pp.  5  and  6,  by  Provost  Smith,  of  the  Uni 
versity  of  Pennsylvania. 

•\  Joseph  Galloway  replied  to  this  speech,  and  both  were  published, 
Galloway's,  with  a  preface  by  Franklin,  and  Dickinson's,  with  a  preface 
by  Provost  Smith,  and  it  is  stated  by  Rawle  ("  Recollections  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Bar,"  p.  167)  as  remarkable,  that  the  prefaces  were  more 
admired  than  the  speeches.  I  have  them  in  pamphlets,  published  in 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  19 

change  of  the  government  of  Pennsylvania  from  proprie 
tary  to  royal,  provoked  by  the  selfish  attempts  of  the  pro 
prietaries,  through  their  governors,  to  exempt  their  lands 
from  a  fair  share  of  taxes  necessary  for  the  common  defence 
of  the  Province.  His  speech  was  well  argued,  in  a  style 
clear,  forcible,  and  rhetorical,  and  was  well  received,  es 
pecially  as  he  stood  forth  the  champion  of  the  Penns,  un- 
trainmeled  by  previous  connection  with  them  or  their 

Philadelphia  in  1764,  before  me.    The  Provost  and  Dickinson  write  like 
men  who  have  been  formed  in  the  study,  among  books,  Franklin  like  one 
whose  mind  has  been  developed  and  furnished  in  the  turmoil  of  busy 
life.     The  former  are  more  polished  and  ornate  in  style,  illustrated  by 
historical  examples  and  adorned  with  classical  quotations,  while  Frank 
lin  discusses  his  subject  just  as  no  doubt  he  talked  it  over  with  his  neigh 
bors,  upon  chance-meetings  in  the  street,  the  market,  or  the  coffee-house. 
He  quotes  from  neither  historians  nor  poets,  except  two  lines  from  Pope, 
but  from  the  Bible  and  primer;  from  the  latter  a  couplet  of  the  verses 
under  the  picture  of  John  Rogers,  amidst  upcurling  flames,  his  wife 
and  nine  children  near,  which  has  drawn  tears  from  many  an  infant  eye. 
It  is  written  in  a  masterly  manner,  with  great  terseness,  simplicity,  and 
caustic  wit,     While  his  'hits  at  the  sons  of  the  great  Proprietary  are 
hard  and  unsparing,  at  every  open  point,  he  treats  Mr.  Dickinson  with 
great  respect,  refraining  from  any  attack  upon  him.   I  may  be  pardoned 
for  one  sample  of  this  preface.  The  Provost  constructs  very  ingeniously 
a  paragraph  highly  laudatory  of  William    Perm   and  his  charter,  with 
extracts  from  addresses  of  the  House  of  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  to 
his  sons  ;  Franklin,  from  votes  of  the  same  Assembly,  writes  an  epitaph 
for  a  monument  to  them  as  depreciatory.     He  represents  the  Assembly, 
when  addressing  the  sons,  as  ever  lauding  their  father,  because  there 
was  nothing  praiseworthy  in  them,  and  slyly  adds,  "  till  they  were  dis 
gusted,  and  exclaimed,  '  We  have  too  much  of  our  father  !'  "    ft  seems  to 
me,  however,  that  Smith  and  Dickinson  have  the  advantage  in  the  main 
argument,  showing,  as  they  do  very  clearly,  the  inexpediency  and  folly 
of  relinquishing  the  existing  charter,  inasmuch  as,  from  the  temper  of 
the  British  Parliament  to  the  Colonies,  so  far  from  its  being  likely  that 
new  privileges  would  be  conferred,  it  was  unlikely  that  those  enjoyed 
would  be  retained.     Besides  the  preface  to  Galloway's  speech,  there  is 
prefixed  to  it  an  "  Address,"  evidently  from  the  pen  of  a  mere  partisan. 
Its  charges  against  Mr.  Dickinson  betray  petty  malignity.     "He  at 
tempted  to  deliver  his  sentiments  on  the  petition  for  the  change  of  gov 
ernment  from  proprietary  to  royal  oretenus,  but,  making  no  impression, 
retreated  to  his  written  speech,  which  he  read  in  a  manner  not  the  most 
deliberate,"  insinuating  a  want  of  self-possession,  "and,  after  solemnly 
promising  to  leave  his  speech  with  Mr.  Galloway,  declining  to  do  so, 
and  not  leaving  it  on  the  table  of  the  Assembly  for  examination  till  the 
petition  was  put  on  the  third  reading."     From  Mr.  Dickinson's  charac 
ter  I  have  no  doubt  that,  while  the  first  charge  may  be  true,  the  second 
was  either  a  downright  falsehood  or  originated  from  mistake. 


20  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

governors.  His  pamphlet  against  the  "  Regulations  respect 
ing  the  British  Colonies,"  and  the  bold  resolutions  of  the 
Congress  of  1765,  from  his  pen,  gave  him  a  continental 
reputation,  and  the  publication  of  his  "  Farmers'  Letters"  in 
London  and  Paris,  with  a  preface  by  Franklin,  soon  enlarged 
it  to  one  in  a  measure  European.* 

In  the  year  17G3f  Mr.  Read  married  the  daughter  of  the 
Reverend  George  Ross,J  for  almost  fifty  years  rector  of  Im- 
nianuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware.  It  was  one  of  his 
favorite  maxims  that  men  ambitious  of  arriving  at  the  acme 
of  their  professions  should  never  marry;  but  his  good  sense 
taught  him  that  the  sacrifice  of  domestic  enjoyment  would 
be  inadequately  compensated  by  the  highest  honors.  The 
understanding  of  Mrs.  Read,  naturally  strong,  was  carefully 
cultivated  by  her  father,  who  bestowed  more  attention  upon 
her  instruction  than  it  was  the  common  lot  of  females  at 
that  period  to  receive.  Such  is  the  advance  in  the  educa 
tion  of  the  women  of  our  country  that  her  letters,  a  few 
of  which  I  have,  in  the  points  of  orthography  and  penman 
ship  would  suffer  on  comparison  with  those  of  the  present 
day.  Her  person  was  beautiful,  her  manners  elegant,  and 
her  piety  exemplary.  During  our  Revolutionary  struggle 
her  trials  were  many  and  severe.  The  enemy,  constantly 
on  the  maritime  borders  of  Delaware,  kept  the  State  in 
perpetual  alarm  by  predatory  incursions.  The  British  army 
at  different  periods  occupied  parts  of  her  territory  or  marched 
through  it.  Frequent  change  of  habitation  was  not  one  of 
the  least  evils  which  accompanied  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion.  Mrs.  Read  was  almost  constantly  separated  from  her 
husband  while  he  was  engaged  in  the  public  service.  She 
was  often  compelled  to  fiy  from  her  abode,  at  a  moment's 
warning,  with  a  large  and  infant  family.  But  she  never 
desponded.  Instead  of  adding  to  the  heavy  burden  of  a 
statesman's  cares  by  her  complaints,  she  animated  his  forti 
tude  by  her  firmness. § 

*  For  a  notice  of  John  Dickinson,  see  post,  Appendix  C. 

f  Register  of  Marriages  of  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware. 

j  For  a  notice  of  the  Rev.  George  Ross,  see  Appendix  D. 

§  She  survived  Mr.  Reed  four  years,  dying  in  1802  in  the  mansion 
they  had  long  occupied,  which  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1824,  with 
almost  the  whole  of  the  most  compactly-built  and  commercial  part 
of  New  Castle. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  21 

The  following  congratulatory  letter  was  written  by  Mr. 
Dickinson  to  Mr.  Read  on  the  happy  occasion  of  his  mar 
riage  : 

"  With  the  warmest  wishes,  my  dear  sir,  for  your  happi 
ness  and  Mrs.  Read's,  I  congratulate  you  on  the  very  valuable 
acquisition  each  of  you  has  lately  made.  May  Providence 
be  pleased  to  bestow  upon  you  all  the  blessings  of  which  life 
is  capable;  and  may  life,  as  it  wears  away,  be  spent  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  prove  a  sure  source  of  future  felicity.  No 
man  will  see  your  happiness  with  greater  joy  than  I  shall, 
because  it  will  always  be  a  great  addition  to  my  own,  unless 
one  thing  happens  of  which  I  am  a  little  apprehensive.  I 
mean  that  your  affections  will  be  drawn  into  so  small  a  circle 
that  you  will  forget  to  love  your  friends.  Pray  don't  give 
me  any  reason  to  think  this.  If  you  do,  I  will  revenge 
myself  upon  you  (if  you  are  not  too  happy  to  think  that  any 
revenge)  by  taking  a  wife,  and  ceasing  to  be,  if  my  heart 
will  permit  it,  Mrs.  Read's  and  your  very  affectionate, 
humble  servant, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"January  23d,  1763." 

Mr.  Read  enjoyed  the  felicity  his  friend  so  fervently  de 
sired  for  him  and  his  amiable  partner,  but  the  contest  which 
(in  1765)  commenced  between  Great  Britain  and  the  Colo 
nies  soon  interrupted  his  domestic  enjoyments.  As  Mr. 
Read  held  an  office  under  the  British  government,  and  pos 
sessed  great  and  acknowledged  influence,  his  adherence  to  the 
English  ministers  would,  no  doubt,  have  insured  him  a 
share  in  the  preferments  and  pecuniary  rewards  lavishly 
bestowed  on  those  who  supported  the  schemes  of  oppression 
which  they  had  planned ;  but  his  patriotism  and  integrity 
induced  him  to  take  a  decided  part  with  those  who  opposed 
the  aggressions  of  the  Parliament  as  soon  as  the  dispute 
between  the  Colonies  and  the  mother-country  commenced. 
It  was  not  vanity,  but  a  proper  estimate  of  his  own  abilities, 
and  the  knowledge  that  they  were  duly  appreciated  by  his 
fellow-citizens,  which  assured  him  that  he  would  be  called 
upon  to  act  an  important  part  in  a  momentous  drama  as 
soon  as  he  declared  himself.  He  well  knew  that  the  post 
of  leader,  whether  civil  or  military,  was  at  once  the  post  of 
danger  and  the  place  of  honor.  Success  was  problematical, 


22  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  he  could  not  doubt  that  the  British  ministers,  em 
bittered  by  opposition  and  flushed  by  victory,  would  single 
out  as  victims  those  who  had  been  most  active  and  influen 
tial  in  resisting  their  designs.  Clemency  was  little  to  be 
expected  where  vengeance  could  be  inflicted  under  the 
guise  of  just  punishment.  But  neither  interest  nor  fear 
could  divert  him  from  taking  the  course  he  believed  to 
be  right,  and  once  taken,  inflexible  in  faith,  he  never 
swerved  from  it. 

In  October,  1765,  he  took  his  seat  in  the  General  Assem 
bly  of  Delaware  as  one  of  the  representatives  from  New 
Castle  County,  which  station  he  continued  to  occupy  for  the 
twelve  next  ensuing  years.*  Mr.  Read  was  a  member  of 
the  committees  who  reported  the  addresses  made  to  George 
III.  by  the  Delaware  Legislature  on  behalf  of  their  constit 
uents,  and  which  merit  the  encomiums  so  deservedly  be 
stowed  on  our  Revolutionary  state-papers.  In  a  letter  of 
September  23d,  1766,  to  Mr.  Read,  chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  of  Correspondence  of  that  body,  Dennis  de  Berdt, 
agent  of  the  three  lower  counties,  in  London,  acknowledges 
the  receipt  of  an  address,  which  was  "  very  graciously  re 
ceived,"  and  adds,  UI  told  Lord  Shelburn  that  it  appeared 
written  with  the  most  natural  [and]  honest  simplicity  of 
any  I  had  seen.  He  said4 it  did;'  and  '[that]  the  king  was 
so  well  pleased  with  it  that  he  read  it  over  twice.'"  This 
was  an  address  of  thanks  to  George  III.  for  the  repeal  of 
the  stamp- act. 

It  appears  from  the  following  correspondence  that  Mr. 
Read  was  an  applicant  for  the  office  of  collector  for  the  port 
of  New  Castle,  Delaware.  In  answer  to  a  letter  to  him,  a 
copy  of  which  is  not  preserved,  Mr.  Wharton  writes  as 
follows  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  April  14th,  1766,  Monday. 

"DEAR  FRIEND, — I  have  received  yours,  and  immediately 
waited  upon  Governor  Franklin,  and  showed  it  to  him. 

"He  is  fearful  that  the  office  is  engaged.  But  assures  me 
he  will  write  to  his  father,  in  the  strongest  terms,  in  favor 
of  you,  and  therefore  desires  that  you  will  immediately 
write  him  a  letter,  and  request  his  application  to  the  Lords 

*  See  post. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  23 

of  the  Treasury  in  your  behalf.     Which  letter  inclose  to 
me  by  the  bearer. 

"The  packet  is  momentarily  expected.  But  a  ship  went 
down  last  night  for  New  Castle,  in  England,  wherefore,  by 
all  means,  get  a  letter  also  on  -board  of  her  to  Dr.  Franklin. 
Pray  by  no  means  neglect  this,  as  he  will  [thus]  have  the 
earlier  intelligence  of  your  application. 

"  I  have  hired  the  bearer  to  carry  this,  as  I  cannot  find 
another  opportunity. 

"As  soon  as  1  receive  your  letter,  be  assured  that  I  will, 
with  the  greatest  pleasure,  press  it  with  Dr.  Franklin,  as  it 
will  always  afford  me  the  greatest  joy  to  minister  to  the 
happiness  of  my  dearest  friend. 

"  Pray  remember  Mrs.  W-  -  to  Mrs.  R  --  ,  and  believe 
me  to  be,  in  the  greatest  haste,  dear  George, 

u  Yours  affectionately, 

"S.  "WHARTON. 

"Excuse  this  blundering  epistle." 


CASTLE,  April  14th,  17G6. 

"SiR,  —  From  your  known  goodness,  and  the  knowledge 
you  have  of  rne  and  my  family,  I  have  presumed  to  beg  the 
favor  of  you  to  apply  to  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the 
Treasury  on  my  behalf,  for  the  appointment  of  Collector  of 
the  Port  of  New  Castle,  made  vacant  by  the  death  of  Mr. 
\Villiam  Till  yesterday  morning.  My  pretensions  to  this 
post  are  solely  founded  on  your  good  offices  in  my  favor, 
for  which  1  shall  have  no  other  return  to  make  than  a 
grateful  remembrance  of  the  service  done  me,  arid  this,  I  am 
well  assured,  will  be  satisfactory  to  your  generous  mind. 
Should  this  appointment  be  obtained  for  me,  I  am  persuaded 
1  can  give  very  satisfactory  security  for  the  due  execution 
of  the  office  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Among  others,  I 
can  venture  to  name  Mr.  Rees  Meredith  and  Captain  John 
Mease,  whose  very  independent  fortunes,  I  do  suppose,  you 
are  well  assured  of. 

"Good  sir,  pardon  the  freedom  I  have  taken  to  address 
you  on  this  occasion,  and  you  will  much  oblige  your  most 
obedient,  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  To  DR.  FRANKLIN." 


24  LIFE   AND    COBRESPONDEKCE 

"LONDON,  June  12th,  1766. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  letter  of  April  14th,  and 
immediately  made  an  application  in  your  favor  It  will  be 
a  pleasure  to  me  if  it  succeeds.  But  the  Treasury  have  so 
many  to  provide  for  that  we  must  not  be  surprised  if  we 
are  disappointed.  My  regards  to  your  good  mother,  and 
believe  me,  with  sincere  regard,  your  assured  friend  and 
most  humble  servant, 

"B.  FRANKLIN. 

"GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  replied  as  follows: 

"SiR, — I  now  return  you  my  most  sincere  thanks  for  the 
immediate  application  you  were  so  good  as  to  make  at  the 
Treasury  on  my  behalf,  as  I  am  informed  by  your  letter  of 
the  12th  of  June,  and  should  the  event  be  otherwise  than 
successful,  to  me  it  will  not  prove  a  matter  of  much  disap 
pointment.  I  am  but  little  troubled  with  that  passion  for 
offices  so  generally  prevalent.  This  is  the  first  I  ever 
sought  after,  the  execution  of  which,  answering  my  situa 
tion,  tempted  me  to  rely  on  your  well-known  disposition  to 
assist  those  you  may  think  worthy.  My  mother  desires 
her  best  compliments  may  be  made  to  you  for  your  kind 
remembrance  of  her,  and  1  am  your  much  obliged  and  most 
obedient,  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"DOCTOR  FRANKLIN." 

This  application  was  unsuccessful.  This  office  could  not 
have  been  refused  because  Mr.  Read  opposed  the  stamp-act, 
for  Thomas  McKean,  conspicuous  for  his  opposition  to  that 
act  in  the  Legislature  of  Delaware,  and  in  the  Congress  of 
1765,  and  on  all  occasions  an  ardent  and  active  Whig,  was 
appointed  (A.D.  1771)  collector  of  the  port  of  New  Castle.* 
The  cause  of  this  disappointment  appears  from  the  letter 
next  inserted. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  November  14th,  1766. 

"DEAR  FRIEND, — I  have  not  had  leisure  until  this  minute 
to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  favor  of  tlie  7th  inst. 

*  "Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence," 
vol.  iv.  p.  10. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  25 

"You  may  readily  judge  how  I  was  chagrined  when  I 
found  you  had  lost  the  office.  Dr.  Franklin  writes  that 
'  he  had  an  absolute  promise  of  it  for  you  from  the  Mar 
quis  of  Rockingham;  but  when  he  was  in  Germany  there 
was  an  unfortunate  change  in  the  ministry,  and  Alderman 
Trecothick  applied  to  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  and  obtained  it 
for  Mr.  Walker.' 

"The  excursion  to  Germany  has  restored  Dr.  Franklin's 
health,  but  it  occasioned  your  loss  of  what  your  friends  ar 
dently  hoped  you  would  have  obtained.  I  know  you  have 
philosophy  enough  to  bear  the  disappointment  with  temper. 
it  is  only,  if  I  may  be  allowed  the  liberty  to  say  this,  a  loss 
of  What  never  existed,  and  not  like  the  real  rubs  of  the  poor 
unfortunate  merchant. 

"I  have  no  news  to  send  you,  except  that  Dr.  Franklin 
is  in  high  spirits  with  respect  to  the  change,  and  says  the 
ministry  are  favorable  to  America. 

"If  he  does  not  succeed  next  year  I  shall  lose  nil  hopes; 
but  it  must  be  recollected  that  many  unexpected  and  un 
toward  incidents  have  occurred — two  removes  in  the  min 
istry,  the  national  alarm  about  the  stamp-act,  etc. 

"Adieu.    I  am,  in  much  haste, 

"Your  faithful,  affectionate  friend, 

"S.  WHARTON. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  letters  and  part  of  a  letter  next  inserted  are  interest 
ing, — those  of  Mr.  Neave  as  indicating  the  feelings  and 
opinions  of  a  London  merchant  in  regard  to  George  Gren- 
ville's  scheme  for  taxing  the  British  colonies  in  America, 
and  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Head  as  to  the  internal  taxation  for 
revenue  of  these  colonies  by  the  British  Parliament,  by  the 
stamp-act  or  any  other  mode. 

"LONDON,  March  24th,  1T64. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  a  few  lines  the  beginning  of  the 
month  by  the  6  Dragon'  to  cover  the  bill  of  lading  for  the 
silk,  etc.,  which  I  hope  may  reach  you  safe. 

"I  do  not  remember  whether  I  acknowledged  the  receipt 
of  yours  by  Tillett.  If  I  did  not,  I  very  sincerely  thank 
you  for  your  very  kind  and  friendly  congratulation  on  my 
safe  arrival.  I  presume  you  will  have  heard  ere  this  reaches 
you  how  near  we  were  of  being  all  lost,  twice  after  making 

3 


26  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  land,  [and]  that  it  was  the  greatest  miracle  we  were 
saved,  when  we  did  not  expect  it, — once  between  the  island 
of  Guernsey  and  Jersey;  a  second  time  between  Dover  and 
Calais,  when  we  expected  to  be  cast  on  the  French  shore 
presently,  and  both  times  in  the  night.  The  last  was  a 
violent  gale  of  wind,  that  did  incredible  damage  all  over 

O  O 

England. 

"  It  gave  me  sensible  pleasure  to  find  that  I  was  yet  in 
your  remembrance,  and  the  more  so  to  see  that  you  had 
taken  the  first  opportunity  to  convince  me  of  it.  Poor 
Tillett,  who  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  the  'Britannia,'  on 
the  coast  of  France,  on  the  29th  of  January  last,  brought 
me  your  letter  with  others  that  were  for  our  house.  I 
tremble  to  think  of  the  danger  we  escaped.  I  suppose  we 
were  not  ten  miles  from  the  rocks  where  the  "Britannia" 
wras,  in  ten  minutes  after  her  boat  and  crew  were  safe  on 
shore,  beat  to  pieces. 

UI  was  much  shocked  to  hearof  the  death  of  poor  Smith, 
—a  sudden  transition,  indeed.  God  send  that  we  may  ever 
live  [so]  as  to  be  always  ready  when  his  good  providence 
shall  please  to  call  us.  But  enough,  you  will  say,  of  this 
melancholy  subject,  wherefore  I  will  proceed  to  acquaint 
you  with  one  that  is  very  interesting  indeed  to  the  North 
Americans.  You  are  no  doubt  well  acquainted  witli  the 
enormous  debt  this  kingdom  is  loaded  with  by  means  of  the 
last  war.  The  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  for  raising 
a  fund  for  the  supply  of  this  year,  and  paying  the  interest 
of  the  national  debt,  have  fallen  upon  a  scheme  to  tax 
North  America  and  the  Islands.  They  have  framed  an 
act  consisting  of  nineteen  articles,  some  of  which  lay  a 
heavy  duty  per  ton  on  all  wines  except  French,  and  on 
foreign  sugar,  coffee,  molasses,  etc.  To  be  brief,  every  ar 
ticle  has  passed  the  House  except  the  18th,  by  which  it  was 
proposed  to  take  off  the  drawback  which  is  now  allowed 
on  foreign  linens  and  calicoes  exported.  This,  if  it  had 
been  effected,  would  have  been  a  mortal  wound  to  the  trade 
of  this  country.  Immediately  on  hearing  that  such  a  scheme 
was  on  foot  the  merchants  and  traders  had  a  meeting,  when 
they  came  to  aresolution  of  waiting  on  Mr.  Grenville,  Chan 
cellor  of  the  Exchequer,  to  endeavor  to  apprise  him  of  what 
would  be  the  consequence  should  this  act  pass  as  it  stood. 
All  the  satisfaction  they  could  get  was,  that  if  they  would 


OF  GEORGE   BEAD.  27 

not  oppose  any  of  the  other  duties  passing  they  should  have 
a  fair  discussion  of  the  latter.  Yesterday  it  carne  on,  and 
after  examining  several  witnesses,  particularly  Gibson  and 
Clayton,  of  Philadelphia,  they  contented  themselves  with 
retaining  a  small  part  of  the  drawback,  usually  allowed  on 
calicoes.  If  I  can  get  a  copy  of  the  votes  in  time  I  will 
enclose  you  one.  How  you  Americans  will  relish  the  new 
taxes  I  don't  know,  but  I  am  satisfied  there  are  a  great 
number  can  afford  to  pay  them  as  well  as  we  can.  Only 
consider,  there  is  hardly  a  thing  we  eat,  drink,  or  wear  that 
is  not  taxed!  If  the  above  article  had  passed  it  would  have 
been  a  heavy  burthen  on  the  poor  among  you,  because  it 
would  fall  heavy  on  the  low  goods. 

"I  have  shipped  on  board  of  the  ship  ' Friendship,'  for 
Philadelphia,  a  trunk  containing  the  books  agreeably  to  the 
list  you  sent  me,  which  I  hope  may  arrive  safe  and  prove 
agreeable.  Enclosed  you  have  the  bill  of  lading  and  in 
voice,  amounting  to  ,  which  I  have  charged  to  your 
account.  Whenever  you  have  occasion  to  send  to  London 
for  anything,  I  beg  you  wrill  freely  send  to  me,  as  I  shall 
always  take  pleasure  in  executing  your  commissions. 

"My  good  friend.  S.  Wharton,  acquainted  me  with  your 
being  '  regenerated'  in  a  son  and  heir,  and  that  Mrs.  Kead 
was  very  well. 

"I  am  joined  by  my  father  and  mother  in  our  best  com 
pliments  to  you  and  your  lady,  and  lam,  with  great  esteem, 
dear  sir,  very  much  yours, 

"KiCHARD  NEAVE,  Jr. 

"P.S. — I  had  a  letter  lately  from  Captain  Tom;  I  suppose 
he  is  on  his  voyage  home. 
"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

"LONDON,  July  llth,  1765. 

"DEAR  SIR, — As  I  think  the  old  proverb  'of  it's  being 
better  lute  than  never  to  mend'  a  very  good  one,  I  am  con 
strained  to  make  use  of  it  on  this  occasion  in  some  measure 
to  apologize  for  my  so  long  neglecting  your  very  esteemed 
favor  of  the  25th  of  June,  1764,  wherein  you  acknowledged 
the  arrival  of  the  goods  sent  you.  It  gave  me  great  pleasure 
to  hear  that  Mrs.  Read  approved  of  the  silks,  because  the 
choice  depends  so  much  on  fancy  that  I  was  doubtful  of 
pleasing. 


28  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  I  was  sorry  to  hear  of  the  complaint  of  the  second-hand 
books,  and  am  much  obliged  by  the  information  of  the 
bookseller's  base  conduct  in  packing  them  up  so  faultily. 
If  you  will  be  at  the  trouble  of  returning  them  by  any  ship 
we  have  a  concern  in,  you  may  depend  we  will  make 
him  change  them  for  better.  I  arn  extremely  obliged  by 
your  kind  congratulation.  The  danger  I  escaped  was,  no 
doubt,  enough  to  make  me  afraid  of  trusting  myself  so  far 
on  the  water;  but  I  own  that  a  good  errand  would  get  the 
better  of  my  fear,  but  my  mother  would  not  easily  consent. 
I  like  America,  and  could  with  a  great  deal  of  satisfaction 
reside  there. 

"You  judged  right  about  the  severity  of  the  winter  that 
was  approaching,  for  by  all  accounts  from  thence  you  had 
it  extremely  severe.  1  am  sorry  to  say  your  lively  picture 
of  the  distress  the  farmers  and  tradesmen  were  likely  to  be 
reduced  to  was  a  true  one.  We  merchants  find  the  ill 
effects  already  of  the  conduct  of  the  late  weak  ministry. 
They  are,  thank  God,  removed  from  all  power  within  these 
four  days.  You  will  see  by  the  papers  what  a  difficulty 
there  has  been  to  get  this  great  affair  accomplished.  Many 
are  of  opinion  that  the  riot  of  the  silk- weavers,  in  Spital- 
fields,  opened  the  eyes  of  his  Majesty  and  council  so  as  to 
make  them  think  seriously  of  a  change.  The  late  ministry 
have  not  only  burthened  the  colonies  with  many  heavy 
taxes  and  impositions,  but  have  laid  more  duties  on  us  here, 
and  new  regulations  as  to  doing  business  in  the  public 
offices,  than  ever  before  \vere  known,  since  I  can  remember, 
in  so  short  a  time.  All  our  manufactories  experience  the 
ill  effects  of  the  late  severe  regulations  against  the  Ameri 
cans,  for  trade  has  not  been  at  so  low  an  ebb  this  many 
years.  In  short,  there  is  scarcely  a  person  to  be  met  with 
but  complains,  more  or  less,  of  the  badness  of  the  times, 
and  the  number  of  poor  wretches  that  are  starving  in 
the  country  for  want  of  employ.  A  disagreeable  situation 
this,  when  all  kinds  of  provision  continues  extremely 
dear. 

i;Your  brother  Tom  is  once  more  sailed  in  the  Tartar. 
He  left  us  a  month  past  for  Cork,  where  he  arrived ;  and 
sailed,  the  2d  instant,  for  Newfoundland,  where  we  design 
him  to  load  for  Lisbon.  He  will  proceed  from  thence  to 
Port  Royal,  in  South  Carolina,  to  load  for  London  or  Lisbon, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  29 

whichever  may  suit  the  ship  best.  His  further  destination 
I  cannot  at  present  acquaint  you  with. 

"I  am  joined  by  my  father  and  mother  in  best  compli 
ments  to  yourself  and  Mrs.  Read.  I  am  greatly  obliged  by 
your  kind  remembrance. 

"Pray  favor  me  with  a  line  frequently,  and  do  not  take 
example  from  my  negligence,  for  it  will  always  give  me 
pleasure  to  hear  of  your  welfare,  being  with  great  esteem 
and  regard,  dear  sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"  RICHARD  NEAVE,  Junior. 

"Will  you  present  my  best  compliments  to  our  friend 
Samuel  Wharton  and  to  Mrs.  Wharton,  and  tell  them  they 
are  not  forgotten  by  me,  for  we  seldom  miss  an  oppor 
tunity  of  drinking  the  health  of  our  particular  friends  in 
America. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

With  the  letter  of  Mr.  Neave  of  July,  1765,  I  find  part 
of  the  rough  draft  of  Mr.  Read's  reply  to  it,  as  follows: 

"  DEAR  SIR, — The  scene  in  America  has  greatly  changed 
since  you  left  us.  Then  political  disputes  were  confined  to 
parties  formed  in  the  respective  colonies.  They  are  now 
all  resolved  into  one,  and  that  with  the  mother-country. 
The  stamp-act  you  made  on  your  side  of  the  water  hath 
raised  such  a  ferment  among  us — that  is,  among  one  and 
all  of  the  colonies  on  the  continent — that  I  know  not  when 
it  will  subside.  Before  you  will  receive  this  I  doubt  not 
but  you  will  see  in  our  public  papers  the  opposition  gener 
ally  made  to  the  distribution  of  the  stamp-papers,  and  to 
these  publications  I  shall  refer  you  for  particulars.  How 
the  disturbances  raised  here  will  be  received  in  England,  I 
know  not.  I  sincerely  wish  the  furious  zeal  of  the  populace 
may  not  be  resented  by  your  people  in  power  [so]  as  to 
prevent  them  from  lending  a  candid  ear  to  our  just  com 
plaints,  and  repealing  a  law  so  destructive  to  the  liberty  of 
the  subject  in  America,  and  which,  in  time,  will  prove  det 
rimental  to  the  trade  of  the  mother-country.  As  to  this  I 
shall  explain  myself  to  be  understood,  viz.,  if  this  law 
should  stand  unrepealed,  or,  indeed,  any  other  enactment 
in  lieu  thereof  imposing  an  internal  tax  for  the  purpose  of 
revenue,  the  colonists  will  entertain  an  opinion  that  they 


30  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

are  to  become  the  slaves  of  Great  Britain  by  the  Parlia 
ment's  making  laws  to  deprive  them  of  their  property  with 
out  their  assent,  by  any  kind  of  representation.  This  will 
naturally  lead  them  into  measures  to  live  as  independent 
of  Great  Britain  as  possible,  [and]  they  will,  gradually,  go 
into  the  making  of  woollens  and  ironmongery,  your  two 
great  branches  of  manufactory;  and,  although  from  the  high 
prices  of  labor  in  general  among  us  they  will  be  greatly 
impeded  in  the  first  attempts,  yet  the  necessity  of  persever 
ing  will  surmount  and  possibly  remove  that  difficulty.  The 
spirit  hath  seized  them  already,  and  prevails  surprisingly. 
Home-spun  cloth  is  worn  as  well  by  the  beaux  as  the  men 
of  gravity  of  all  ranks,  and  though  only  fashion  with  the 
first,  it  will  soon  grow  into  habit,  which,  when  once  fixed, 
will  not  be  readily  changed.  From  this  consideration  alone 
every  friend  to  the  mother-country  and  the  colonies  ought 
to  wish  and  to  afford  a  helping  hand  to  obtain  an  altera 
tion  in  the  late  system  of  politics  in  England." 

Mr.  Wharton  writes  to  him  as  follows  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  August  2d,  1766. 

"My  DEAR  FRIEND, — It  was  with  the  sincerest  pleasure 
I  received  yours  of  the  1st  instant,  as  I  impatiently  longed 
to  know  how  you,  Mrs.  Read,  and  the  little  one  were. 

"I  have  had  a  long  and  tiresome  excursion,  but  I  never 
enjoyed  more  real  health.  Now  and  then,  indeed,  I  was 
obliged  to  trespass  [against]  the  laws  of  sobriety,  and  drink 
a  cheerful  potation  with  the  military  gentlemen  whom  I 
could  not  deny,  as  I  daily  received  the  highest  marks  of 
their  kindness  and  hospitality. 

"  The  situation  and  country  of  Fort  Pitt  are  beautiful  and 
rich.  I  verily  believe  there  is  not  finer  land  in  the  world. 
The  banks  of  the  Alleghany  and  Monongahela  must,  in 
time,  be  a  great  vineyard,  as  the  adjacent  territory  is  filled 
with  remarkably  fine  vines,  much  larger  and  more  spread 
ing  than  any  on  this  side  the  great  mountains.  But  I  con 
trol  my  pen  with  respect  to  the  nature  of  my  journey,  the 
peculiarity  of  the  soil,  and  the  importance  of  the  Indian 
negotiations,  as.  I  assure  you,  I  never  was  so  engaged  in 
hurrying  business  as  at  present. 

"I  have  the  pleasure  of  telling  you  our  peltries  are  safe- 
arrived  at  the  Illinois,  and  we  have  no  one  to  interfere  with 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  31 

us  or  our  traffic.  On  the  whole,  our  affairs  to  the  westward 
are  in  a  blooming  way.  At  one  store,  at  Fort  Pitt,  in  eight 
months,  out  of  a  cargo  of  only  £2500,  we  have,  bona  fide, 
cleared  at  least  £3000;  nay,  received  the  peltries,  which  are 
better  than  cash.  I  mention  it  [because]  I  know  it  will  be 
joyous  to  you. 

"I  am  pained  to  hear  that  your  little  boy  is  so  afflicted. 
I  ardently  hope  that  he  will  shortly  recover,  to  the  ineffable 
pleasure  .of  his  parents,  who,  with  unutterable  solicitude, 
watch  over  his  tender  constitution.  This  is  certainly  a 
most  proving  world  we  breathe  in.  Scarce  a  day  opens  but 
it  brings  with  it  some  new  subject  of  painful  sighs.  Cer 
tainly  the  great  and  good  Author  of  our  creation  intends 
them  as  so  many  checks  to  terrestrial  happiness,  and  to  in 
cite  us  to  rely  upon  a  more  enduring  inheritance  in  the 
realms  above.  What  incites  my  pen  to  this  meditative 
strain  is  the  melancholy  scene  I  have  just  returned  from 
mixing  in.  My  brother  Thomas  has  two  fine  children,  one 
six  years  old,  the  other  about  nine  months,  now  breathless. 
They  fell  victims  to  the  rage  of  an  excruciating  flux.  One 
of  them  was  the  teeming  prospect  of  great  joy  to  them. 

"I  much  fear  that  your  attention  to  your  meadows  will 
be  an  injury  to  your  health,  as  I  am  persuaded  the  exhala 
tions  of  such  grounds  are  not  friendly  to  the  most  athletic 
constitutions, — of  consequence  not  to  yours.  Since  Provi 
dence,  therefore,  has  been  pleased  to  form  you  of  delicate 
and  tender  materials,  why  will  you  endanger  them  by  an 
anxious  pursuit  after  the  things  of  this  world  ?  Where  is 
all  the  boasted  acquiescence  to  the  practice  of  your  profes 
sion  ?  I  fear,  dear  friend,  it  is  almost  forgot,  and  that  you 
are  become  so  infatuated  with  the  prospect  of  meadows,  etc., 
that  you  seldom  now  thumb  my  Lord  Coke.  I  expect  soon 
to  see  published  the  lucubrations  of  George  Read,  Esquire, 
on  the  manner  of  draining  cripple-land,  feeding  horn-cattle, 
etc.  Pray  let  me  early  bespeak  one  of  them  for  your  brother 
Galloway.* 

*  This  meadow  is  part  of  a  farm  called  "  Stonum,"  which  runs  up 
nearly  to  the  southwestern  boundary  of  New  Castle.  This  marsh  fronts 
on  the  Delaware,  there  nearly  three  miles  wide,  and  expanding  into  a 
reach  below  it,  and  is  much  exposed  to  storms  from  the  northeast,  but 
especially  to  those  from  the  southeast.  The  embankment  of  this  marsh 
was  twice  broken  and  repaired,  at  great  expense,  by  Mr.  Read  while  he 


32  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"As  to  public  affairs,  your  brother  has  wrote  to  you  prop 
erly.  Dr.  Franklin  says,  positively,  that  the  Proprietary 
letter  contained  a  shameful  falsehood  in  saying '  that  the 
petition  was  dismissed  for  ever  and  ever.'  It  was,  to  adopt 
his  own  words,  'no  more  than  a  mere  postponing  until  the 
general  affairs  of  America  were  out  of  hand;  it  now  lies 
ready  to  be  taken  up,  and  we  shall  shortly  proceed  upon  it.' 
How  ashamed  ought  the  Proprietary  partisans  [to]  be  at 
their  repeated,  nay  daily,  lies.  They  certainly  tend  to 
lessen  their  credit  with  men  of  truth  and  candor.  How 
confidently  did  the  giant  assert,  even  last  session,  in  our 
House  that  Mr.  Franklin  was  the  chief  promoter  of  the 
stamp  act  (for  which,  be  assured,  he  will  meet  with  [what] 
his  demerits  [deserve]  at  the  next  session),  and  that  he 
could  prove  it.  We  have  letters  from  persons  of  the  first 
character  in  England  breathing  the  utmost  thanks  for  the 
unwearied  pains  he  took  in  laying  the  true  state  of  America 
before  the  Ministry  and  Parliament,  and  yet  no  faith  is  to 
be  given  to  his  services.  But  since  the  arrival,  of  his  most 
sensible,  firm,  and  patriotic  answers  to  the  Parliamentary 
examination,  I  will  give  the  base  calumniator  and  his  ven 
omous  faction  so  much  reputation  as  to  say,  they  are  dumb, 
and  have  the  characters  of  conscious  guilt  strongly  ex 
pressed  in  their  countenances.  I  cannot  possibly  send  you 
the  'examination.'  There  is  only  one  copy  in  town.  But 
I  give  you  a  small  extract  from  it,  by  which  you  may  judge 
of  its  importance.* 

"There  are  173  questions,  all  answered  with  the  same 
judgment,  spirit,  and  independency.  At  Chester  you  will 
see  the  whole  of  them.  In  the  mean  time  these  [I  send 

held  it,  and  he  erected,  besides,  a  substantial  barn  on  "  Stonuin,"  and 
made  other  improvements.  After  the  second  breach  of  his  embankment 
(in  1789).  he  sold  "  Stonum,"  and  counselled  his  sons  never  to  buy 
marsh.  If  he  did  not  suffer  in  health  from  his  meadow,  as  Mr.  W bar- 
ton- feared,  he  certainly  did  in  purse.  Twenty  thousand  dollars  has 
lately  been  paid  for  "  Stonum,"  its  embankment  being  now  much  pro 
tected  by  accumulations  of  sand,  and  marsh  is  less  valuable  than  when 
Mr.  Read  owned  this  farm,  in  consequence  of  upland  having  been  made 
available  for  grazing  by  the  introduction  of  clover. 

In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  Colonel  Read,  dated  8th  of  April,  1709,  he 
writes:  "Every  moment  I  have  to  spare  from  my  office  I  spend  among 
some  people  at  my  marsh,  which  may  now  be  properly  called  my 
hobby-horse,  that  I  every  now  and  then  ride  at  a  great  rate." 

*  Here  follows  the  extract. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  33 

you]  will  gratify  you  a  little,  and  enhance  your  thirst  after 
the  others.  You  are  at  liberty  to  read  these  [to  whom  you 
please],  but  neither  give  a  copy  nor  mention  how  you  got 
them,  as  possibly  I  may  be  blamed. 

"My  Sally  continues  very  weak,  although  she  is  much 
better  than  she  usually  is  after  lying  in,  but  the  weather  is 
dreadful  for  all  weakly  persons.  Remember  me  particularly 
to  Mr.  Williams.  I  wish  his  son  was  now  fit  to  come  into 
our  counting-house.  But  he  may  rely  upon  our  keeping  a 
vacancy  for  him.  My  compliments  to  my  old  friend  Van 
Gezel.  Is  he  in  love  now?  Adieu,  my  dear  friend.  I 
anxiously  pant  to  spend  a  few  hours  tete-a-tete  with  you. 
Our  affectionate  regards  to  Mrs.  Read. 

"I  am  yours,  truly, 

"S.  WlIARTON. 

"Poor  Galloway  has  been  very  ill,  but  he  is  recovered. 
There  are  no  hopes  of  Peggy  Ross,  but  the  poor  Counsellor 
(who  supped  with  me  last  night)  still  flatters  himself — 

1  Hope  springs,  eternal,  in  the  human  breast.' " 

Lawyers  were  evil  spoken  of  in  1767  as  they  are  at 
present.  I  have  a  pamphlet  before  me,  published  in  that 
year,  on  the  eve  of  an  election  of  •Assemblymen  in  the  three 
lower  counties.  It  is  in  folio,  and  anonymous.  It  treats 
of  topics  of  local  and  temporary  interest,  is  poorly  written, 
and  has  this  pithy  motto,— 

"Lawsuits  I'd  shun  with  as  much  studious  care 
As  hungry  dens,  where  greedy  lions  are." — POMFRET. 

Will  the  following  passage  of  family  history  be  thought 
irrelevant,  or  trivial,  or  of  too  delicate  a  character  to  be 
brought  to  light?  Some  of  my  readers  may  so  regard  it; 
but  it  seems  to  me  illustrative  of  my  grandfather's  charac 
ter,  and  can  offend  or  harm  no  one  living. 

He  writes  to  his  brother  James,  20th  March,  17G9  : 
"When  I  was  at  Christeen  on  Saturday,  mother  told  me 
Gunning  Bedford  had  applied  for  her  consent  to  marry  our 
sister  Polly.  As  she  had  not  heard  of  this  before,  nor  [had] 
any  suspicion  of  its  being  in  agitation,  and  but  little  ac 
quaintance  with  Bedford,  she  gave  him  an  absolute  denial. 
She  asked  my  opinion.  I  gave  it  in  favor  of  Bedford,  if  his 


34  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

father  would  make  over  the  plantation  he  lived  on  to  him, 
and  I  am  apt  to  believe  our  mother  may  be  induced  to  per 
mit  the  match  if  this  is  done.  I  yesterday  had  Bedford  to 
dine  with  me,  intending  to  open  the  matter  to  him,  but  he 
went  away  before  the  opportunity  offered.  I  understand 
he  is  going  to  Philadelphia,  and  will,  perhaps,  open  his  mind 
to  you;  and  if  he  should,  let  him  know  that  it  is  for  his  own 
interest  that  the  father  should  give  him  the  land."  Mr. 
Read  writes  to  his  brother  James,  15th  April,  1769:  "I 
was  very  desirous  to  have  your  sentiments  about  Bedford's 
pretensions  to  our  sister  Polly,  and  do  agree  with  you  in 
your  opinion  of  the  man,  but  know  not  well  what  to  con 
clude.  He  has  never  mentioned  the  subject  to  me,  though 
I  have  given  him  some  opportunities  so  to  do  I  have  in 
vited  him  several  times  to  my  table,  when  Polly  was  with 
me,  and  I  have  been  unwilling  to  mention  the  matter  to  him, 
in  the  first  instance,  lest  such  a  step  might  be  deemed  an 
over-fondness  for  the  connection,  and  prove  a  disservice  to 
Polly.  I  should  be  glad  you  would  sound  old  Mr.  Bedford 
on  the  subject  of  making  over  to  his  son  the  plantation  on 
which  he  lives,  as  I  am  determined  to  open  the  whole  matter 
to  the  son  the  next  opportunity  I  have.  It  would  give  me 
great  satisfaction  to  have  her  well  settled  in  life,  and  it  is 
incumbent  upon  us  all  to  contribute  what  may  be  in  our 
power  to  accomplish  this,  and  I  think  she  is  arrived  to  such 
an  age  that  the  sooner  the  better,  if  done  with  prudence. 
As  to  certainty,  there  is  no  such  thing  in  matrimony,  for, 
after  the  best  caution,  there  is  some  risk  which  all  are  to 
run  that  engage  in  it."  He  again  writes  to  James  Read, 
22d  April,  1769  :  <;G.  Bedford  was  with  me  yesterday,  and 
mentioned  my  sister's  affair  and  his  to  me.  1  then  told  him 
I  did  not  disapprove  of  the  match,  but  my  mother  did,  but 
believed  she  would  get  over  all  her  objections  if  his  father 
would  secure  the  plantation  he  lived  on  to  him.  He  could 
not  say  how  this  would  be,  but  expected  he  would,  and  that 
he  would  be  down  next  week.  But  mother  to-day  is  more 
outrageous  than  ever.  I  intended  to  say  more  [to  her  than 
I  did],  but  we  soon  got  warm.  This  must  subside."  Mr. 
Read  writes  to  his  brother  James,  16th  May,  1769  :  "All 
application  to  our  mother  for  her  consent  in  favor  of  Bed 
ford  proves  fruitless,  and  from  what  I  hear  from  Mrs.  Read 
the  two  young  people  are  determined  to  go  together.  He  pro- 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  35 

vided  himself  with  some  clothes  when  he  was  in  Philadel 
phia;  and  that  Poll  might  have  something  new  I  this  day 
gave  her  a  brown  mantua,  a  color  not  very  commonly  used 
on  such  occasions,  but  such  a  one  as  will  be  serviceable  to 
her  hereafter;  and  Mrs.  Read  has  told  her,  from  me,  that 
they  may  be  married  at  my  house,  which  I  thought  it  pru 
dent  to  offer,  as  the  marriage  was  to  be.  If  the  match  should 
not  answer  our  wishes,  the  blame,  of  course,  will  be  laid  upon 
me.  Be  this  as  it  may,  I  believe  I  have  done  what  was  best, 
and  therefore  think  I  am  doing  the  duty  of  a  brother  in  thus 
countenancing  their  intentions,  which  I  learn  will  be  carried 
into  execution  the  next  week  or  the  week  following."  They 
were  married  then  or  soon  after,  and  though  under  circum 
stances  in  one  particular  inauspicious,  the  match  did  "an 
swer  the  wishes  of  their  friends."  Mr.  Bedford  was  a  native 
of  Philadelphia.  He  served  in  the  war  of  1755,  with  the  rank 
of  lieutenant,*  in  the  Pennsylvania  levy,  and  as  lieutenant- 
colonel  of  the  Delaware  regiment  shared  in  the  campaign 
of  1776.  He  was  wounded  in  the  battle  of  White  Plains, 
October,  1776,  at  the  head  of  his  regiment;  and  after  filling 
with  ability  and  fidelity  several  important  offices,  was  elected 
Governor  of  Delaware,  dying  September  30th,  1797.  while 
holding  this  office.  His  integrity,  coupled  with  great  benevo 
lence  and  with  very  bland  and  kindly  manners,  made  him 
highly  popular.  My  grandfather  was  a  good  judge  of  char 
acter,  and  I  cannot,  I  think,  be  mistaken  in  the  conclusion 
that  the  mother  in  this  case  was  unreasonable,  and  his  course 
at  once  wise  and  kind.  Colonel  Bedford  and  his  friend  Col 
onel  Grantham  were  married  the  same  evening,  and  made 
an  agreement  that  to  the  one  of  them  who  should  have  a 
child  first  born  to  him  the  other  should  send  a  quarter-cask 
of  wine,  and,  as  I  have  heard,  neither  had  issue!  It  does 
not  appear  that  the  farm  was  made  over  to  Colonel  Bedford, 

*  "  Among  the  names  subscribed  to  the  petition  of  officers  of  the  three 
Pennsylvania  battalions  who  served  in  this  war  to  the  U.  S.  House  of 
Representatives,  1806,  for  leave  to  locate  their  claims,  under  the  procla 
mation  of  George  III.,  A.D.  1703,  on  United  States  Western  vacant  land, 
is  that  of  'John  Stock'ton,  for  Lieutenant  Gunning  Bedford.'  He  was 
elected  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Delaware  regiment  by  Congress,  Janu 
ary  19th,  1776." — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  30  ;  FolwelTs  edition, 
A.I).  1800.  "  He  was  afterwards  appointed  Deputy  Muster- Master-Gen 
eral,  and  then  promoted  to  the  office  of  Muster-Master-General." — Ibid., 
vol.  ii.  p.  210. 


36  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

but  I  think  it  probable  that  it  was;  however,  he  died  seized 
of  it. 

In  a  letter  of  April  15th,  1769,  to  a  near  kinsman,  Mr. 
Read  urges  upon  him  the  (.hit?/  of  observing  the  Sabbath,  which, 
like  too  many  others,  in  the  hurry  of  business,  he  had  some 
times,  on  the  specious  plea  of  necessity,  infringed.  I  extract 
the  following  paragraph  from  this  letter  with  great  pleasure, 
firmly  persuaded  as  I  am  of  the  connection  between  the  ob 
servance  of  the  Lord's  day  and  the  prosperity  and  happiness 
of  individuals,  families,  and  nations,  and  feeling  that  I  give 
my  grandfather  an  additional  claim  to  gratitude  and  rever 
ence  by  adding  his  name  to  the  long  list  of  men,  the  wisest 
and  best  that  have  lived,  who  have  advocated  the  observ 
ance  of  Sunday, — among  them  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  who  de 
clared  "that  no  temporal  business  which  he  commenced  on 
the  Sabbath  ever  prospered :" 

"I  have  your  letter  of  the  llth  inst.,  and  am  sorry  to  be 
told  by  you  that  for  want  of  time  in  the  six  days  of  labor  you 
break  in  upon  the  Sabbath,  and  do  that  which  upon  no  sound 
reasoning  can  be  deemed  a  necessary  work  on  that  day  of 
rest.  Permit  me  to  say  this  as  I  have  considered  this  matter 
well,  and  was  too  long  in  the  commission  of  like  breaches 
of  that  day,  and  as  soon  as  I  gave  reason  and  conscience 
fair  play  I  became  convinced  of  my  default.  Believe  me, 
it  is  dangerous  to  indulge  ourselves  in  small  breaches  of  that 
duty  we  owe  to  the  Divinity,  aso^e  is  apt  to  bring  on  others, 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  when  you  come  to  recollect  the 
parts  of  each  day  of  the  six,  you  will  find  that  some  of  those 
parts  might  have  been  employed  upon  this  necessary  work. 
It  has  frequently  been  my  case.  Take  not  amiss  this  hint; 
it  truly  proceeds  from  brotherly  love  towards  you,  and  be 
assured  it  will  be  pleasing  to  me  that  you  take  the  like  lib 
erty  whenever  an  occasion  offers,  which,  I  confess,  would  be 
frequent,  if  you  were  nearer  to  me." 

The  kinsman  thus  reproved  immediately  thanked  Mr. 
Read  for  his  reproof,  and  added  that  no  admonition  from 
him  would  ever  be  taken  amiss,  which  probably  encouraged 
him  to  give,  on  the  26th  of  the  same  month,  this  additional 
advice : 

"  More  colds  are  contracted  by  wetting  the  feet  than  in 
any  other  way.  It  is  an  old  maxim  in  favor  of  health  'that 
you  keep  your  head  cool  and  feet  dry,'  and  a  very  just  one; 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  37 

but  I  suspect  chewing  tobacco,  especially  so  much  as  you  do, 
is  very  hurtful;  it  draws  off  too  much  of  the  saliva  from  the 
stomach,  which  is  necessary  for  digestion.  I  apprehend  it 
useful  if  taken  before  your  breakfast  in  the  morning,  but 
not  after;  but  it  must  be  particularly  hurtful  when  used 
immediately  after  a  meal.  Leave  it  off  by  degrees.  The 
disorder  you  have  been  attacked  with  is  a  most  violent  one, 
and  to  prevent  returns  of  it  you  must  carefully  attend  to 
your  constitution,  to  discover  the  cause,  and,  when  dis 
covered,  take  pains  to  remove  it.  I  do  think  that  with  a 
little  attention  most  men  may  be  their  own  physicians  in 
the  general,  and  health  is  so  pleasing  .that  every  one  ought 
to  make  the  attempt.  Good  water  is  the  best  diluent,  and 
assists  digestion  more  than  any  other  liquid;  when  the 
weather  becomes  cold  it  may  be  right  to  put  a  toast  in  it. 
A  draught  of  it,  as  soon  as  one  rises  in  the  morning,  is  good 
for  sedentary,  studious  persons." 

He  announces  to  Colonel  Head*  the  result  of  an  election, 


*  Colonel  Read,  several  years  the  junior  of  Mr.  Read,  established 
himself  in  Philadelphia  as  a  merchant,  and  retired,  after  prosecuting  Ins 
business  for  a  long  period,  with  a  competency,  the  just  reward  of  his 
probity,  industry,  and  enterprise.  He  informed  me  that  he  was  present 
(with  the  rank  of  lieutenant)  at  the  battle  of  Princeton,  and  also  at  the 
battle  of  Trenton,  being  a  volunteer;  that  his  blanket  overcoat  was 
pierced  by  balls,  and  that  a  Hessian,  charging  upon  him,  he,  after  vainly 
signing  to  him  to  surrender,  was  compelled  to  fire  in  self  defence, 
wounding  him  in  the  side.  He  directed  him  to  a  place  where  he  sup 
posed  he  could  be  assisted,  but  as  he  never  saw  him  again,  did  not 
know  whether  his  wound  was  fatal  or  not.  Colonel  Read  participated 
also  in  the  battle  of  Germantown  with  the  rank  of  major.  James  Read 
received  from  Dr.  Williamson  the  information  as  to  the  way  in  which 
the  celebrated  letters  of  Hutchinson,  Oliver,  and  others  were  obtained, 
and  communicated  it  directly,  and  also  through  Bishop  White,  who  was 
his  neighbor,  to  Dr.  Hossack  of  New  York  The  Bishop  writes,  14th 
October,  1819:  "The  Mr.  Read,  mentioned  in  this  letter,  is  brother  to 
the  late  George  Read,  Esquire,  of  New  Castle,  member  of  the  first 
Congress,  and  since  senator  for  Delaware.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  cor 
rectness  of  the  communication  of  Mr.  James  Read,  independently  of 
the  character  he  has  sustained  through  life,  and  to  a  great  age.  Dr. 
Williamson  and  he  were  born  within  twelve  miles  of  each  other,  and 
were  companions  from  their  boyhood." — Collections  of  the  New  York 
Historical  Society,  vol.  ii;.  pp.  145-152,  and  177,  178. 

"  Colonel  Read  died  31st  December,  1822,  in  the  seventy-ninth  year  of 
his  age.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Penn 
sylvania  (llogan's  State  Trials,  p.  56),  and  a  Paymaster  of  the  Con 
tinental  navy,  and  a  Commissioner  of  that  navy." — Cooper's  Naval 
History,  vol/i.  pp.  100,  101 ;  Journal  of  Congress,  1777-8,  p.  460. 


38  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

which   had    just   been    ascertained,    in    the   letter   which 
follows : 

"3d  October,  1769. 

"DEAR  JAMES, — I  write  this  after  being  up  all  night 
waiting  the  event  of  the  election,  which  closed  after  day 
light  this  morning,  occasioned  by  the  greatest  number  of 
voters  that  ever  appeared  here  before.  The  old  Assembly 
continues,  myself  the  fifth  man,  with  1005  votes;  B.  Noxon, 
the  sixth,  with  675  votes;  T.  Duff,  highest  in  return  for 
Sheriff,  by  213  votes;  Alexander  Porter,  second,  who  has 
told  me,  this  morning,  he  will  not  go  up  to  the  Governor; 
Henry  Yining,  of  Newport,  [is]  highest  for  Coroner  by  201 
votes;  one  Thomas  Morton,  second,  who  declines  going  up 
also.  By  this  the  Governor  loses  his  choice.  The  electors 
were  computed  at  1500.  Evan  Rice,  at  the  head  of  the 
Assembly-list,  had  1348,  W.  Armstrong,  1246,  J.  Evans, 
1222,  and  T.  McKean,  1021.  There  were  three  candidates 
for  the  Sheriff's  office,  viz.,  Duff,  Porter,  and  Van  Bebber, 
the  highest  of  whom  had  but  664  votes,  so  that  each  can 
didate  had  almost  in  every  ticket  a  single  clear  vote.  Por 
ter  says  he  is  satisfied,  and  will  go  home  and  mind  Ids  nnU9 
which  really  is  a  mark  of  prudence.  Mrs.  Read  and  Bed 
ford  got  down  in  good  time  on  Sunday  evening,  all  well. 
You  are  to  buy  a  card-  or  side-table,  with  a  leaf  that  folds 
over,  when  opportunity  offers.  I  have  sent  Philip  Wirt 
down  to  Dennis's  Creek  to  bring  me  up  one  thousand  cedar- 
rails,  promised  to  be  very  good.  My  masons  are  laying  the 
last  stretch  of  wall  along  the  bank,  and  will  nearly  finish 
this  week,  and  I  shall  be  sincerely  glad.  A  hurry  of  busi 
ness  begins  with  me  the  last  of  this  week,  when  the  Dover 
Supreme  [Court]  happens,  and  [I]  shall  continue  employed 
in  Courts  and  Assembly  till  the  beginning  of  December, — 
but  a  disagreeable  prospect.  Mrs.  Read  gives  her  love  to 
Mrs.  Wharton,  yourself,  and  all  friends,  and  I  arn,  dear 
James,  yours  very  sincerely, 

"GEORGE  READ." 

I  wish,  from  my  heart  I  wish,  that  every  disappointed 
office-seeker  may  have  the  wisdom  of  Porter,  one  of  the 
defeated  candidates  for  the  Sheriffalty  in  the  foregoing  letter 
mentioned.  If,  when  defeated,  instead  of  trying  their  luck 
again  in  the  political  lottery,  like  prudent  Porter,  they 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  39 

• 

would  go  home  and  mind  their  mills,  or  farms,  or  work 
shops,  there  would  be  fewer  of  our  yeomanry  degraded  to 
be  office-hunters,  ready  to  do  the  dirty  work  of  demagogues: 
then  they  might  thank  God,  in  every  day  of  after-life,  for 
defeat:  then,  earning  their  bread  with  the  sweat  of  their 
brow,  owing  no  one  anything,  and  scorning  to  vote  at  the 
beck  of  any  man  or-  party,  they  could  walk  abroad  with  the 
port  of  independence  and  honor. 

Mr.  Read,  who  practised  in  Kent  and  Sussex  counties, 
Delaware,  as  well  as  New  Castle,  writes  to  Mrs.  Read  from 
Sussex,  as  follows : 

"5th  May,  1770. 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  I  sit  down  to  converse  with  you  at 

this  distance  from  necessity,  as  our  separation  must  con 
tinue,  at  least,  these  eight  days  to  come.  This  is  Saturday 
evening,  and  I  am  at  Mr.  Kollack's,  much  fatigued  with  the 
two  past  weeks'  service.  At  Dover,  I  was  in  court  all  one 
night  and  the  greater  part  of  another;  this  brought  on  an 
attack  of  my  old  complaint,  which  has  continued  upon  me, 
more  or  less,  ever  since.  I  came  to  Lewis  on  Saturday 
evening  last.  Sunday  and  Monday  I  did  not  stir  out.  On 
Tuesday  I  went  into  court,  was  up  all  night;  Wednesday 
we  did  nothing;  Thursday  the  dispute  between  the  Justices 
and  Grand  Jury  was  heard,  and  determined  in  favor  of 
the  former.  Yesterday  we  wrent  into  the  trial  of  an  eject 
ment,  and  did  not  leave  the  court  till  sunrise  this  morning. 
In  all  these  matters  I  have  had  my  share  of  success, — of 
the  two  at  Dover,  both  went  in  my  favor;  of  the  three  at 
Lewis,  I  succeeded  in  two.  This  is  a  short  account  of  my 
self  and  works.  To-morrow  I  set  off  for  Prime-Hook  neck, 
and  expect  to  be  there  on  Monday  evening,  if  possible.  Mr. 
Kollack's  family  are  well,  and  desire  to  be  remembered  to 
you.  They  have  been  extremely  kind.  Miss  Armitage 
came  here  with  Mr.  Rodney,  and  returns  to-morrow  morn 
ing.  Rodney  has  had  the  asthma  ever  since  he  came, — at 
particular  times  very  ill, — but  made  a  shift  to  attend  the 
courts  on  the  hearing  of  the  affair  of  the  Grand  Jury,  of 
which  Clowes  was  the  foreman,  and  this  was  a  case  of 
great  expectation  in  the  county,  and  drew  great  numbers 
in;  but  Clowes,  the  Wilkes  or  McDougal  of  Sussex,  was  re 
manded  to  prison,  to  the  mortification  of  the  party.  Mr. 
William  and  Rodney  being  of  this  opinion,  Hall  against  it, 


40  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

9 

who  seems  to  be  under  rather  more  uneasiness  than  Clowes. 
As  this  is  the  only  topic  here,  I  have  been  thus  particular 
about  it.  Pray  kiss  our  little  ones  for  me.  Take  care  of 
yourself  and  them,  and  believe  me  your  very  affectionate 
husband, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"I  have  taken  six  tickets  in  St.  James's  Church  Lottery." 

I  find  in  Mr.  Eead's  "Almanack"  for  1771  a  ticket  in  a 
lottery  for  the  benefit  of  the  New  Castle  and  Christiana 
Presbyterian  Church,  having  his  signature,  with  blank  writ 
ten  on  the  back  of  it.* 

I  find  among  Mr.  Head's  papers  a  file  of  copies  of  his 
letters  to  his  brothers  William,  John,  James,  and  Thomas, 
and  their  letters  to  him  from  1762  to  1772.  1  read  them 
with  interest  because  they  exhibit  strong  fraternal  attach 
ment,  and  afford  glimpses  of  his  private  life  during  that 
period.  In  1763  James  announces  the  murder  of  William, 
settled  as  a  merchant  in  the  West  Indies;  and  his  brother 
Thomas,-)-  commanding  a  ship,  writes  from  Jamaica,  "that 
he  had  a  narrow  escape  from  being  taken  by  a  Spanish 
privateer,  his  crew  of  fifteen  men  not  being  such  as  he  could 
rely  upon,  except  three  or  four,  but  he  got  clear  of  the  out 
landish  devils,  the  wind  blowing  a  gale."  Mr.  Read  is 
much  occupied  with  his  profession,  practising  law  in  the 
three  lower  counties  on  Delaware  and  in  one  or  more  in 
Pennsylvania.  He  tells  his  brother  James,  9th  December, 
1768,  "  I  rode  your  horse  to  Chester,  but  he  proved  so  very 
unruly  for  the  first  three  miles  (rearing  as  many  times)  that 
I  was  forced  to  dismount.  With  spurs  he  might  have  been 
pushed  on.  This  is  a  bad  habit."  All  the  time  Mr.  Read 
can  spare  from  his  profession  is  devoted  to  his  farm 
SStonurn.'"  April  8th,  1769,  he  tells  James,  "Parson  Mont 
gomery,  late  of  Georgetown,  Maryland,  preaches  to-morrow 
on  trial."  May  7th,  1769,  he  is  in  great  anxiety  for  his  two 
little  boys,  who  had  been  inoculated;  and  as  I  read  his  ex 
pression  of  uneasiness,  I  feel  how  great  is  our  debt  of  grati 
tude  to  Jenner.  July  7th,  1769,  his  wife  presents  him  with 
a  fine  boy,  and  is  doing  well:  and  15th  of  September,  Mrs. 
Read,  Mrs.  Bedford,  and  Miss  Armitnge  embark,  in  James's 


See  post,  Appendix  E.  f  See  Appendix  F. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  41 

shallop,  from  Christiana,  and  arrive,  wind  and  tide  favoring, 
at  Philadelphia  the  same  day;*  and  he  tells  his  brother 
James  "he  will  have  little  to  do  for  some  time,  as  most  of 
the  mills,  from  which  he  received  flour  for  sale,  had  their 
dams  carried  away  by  the  late  flood,  and  he  had  lost  some 
of  his  second  crop  hay,  and  there  had  been  much  destruc 
tion,  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  in  timber  and  apple-trees 
blown  down,  with  fences  inclosing  them,  and  cattle  killed 
by  eating  the  apples,  and  the  stage-boat  had  gone  adrift  in 
the  late  storm,  and  has  not  been  up  since,  and  it  might 
have  been  lucky  if  it  had  been  beaten  to  pieces,  as  probably 
the  present  owner  could  not  have  procured  another  vessel, 
and  some  person  more  fitting  would  have  supplied  his  place 
— he  and  I  are  on  bad  terms  at  present,  and  it  is  probable 
will  continue  so  till  he  becomes  more  careful  and  industri 
ous.  James  must  get  him  cedar  rails,  and  the  wall  before 
his  bank  is  progressing,  and  will  be  finished  by  the  election; 
but  the  persons  who  furnish  stone  worry  him  by  delays. 
His  brother  Thomas  has  met  with  some  ill  luck,  which  is 
too  frequently  so  with  him."  And  9th  August,  IT  TO,  Tom 
writes,  "The  intelligence  that  James  intends  taking  a  mess 
mate  gives  me  great  satisfaction."  February  9th,  1770, 
James  writes,  "I  inclose  a  statement  of  the  prices  of  the 
books  you  spoke  to  me  about  from  the  original  invoice,  and 
the  prices  they  will  be  sold  at,  and  not  a  farthing  less. 
They  are  all  in  exceeding  good  order,  and  the  latest  and 
best  editions,  and  purchased  by  Dr.  Franklin  for  the  Union 
Library.  The  first  and  second  volumes  of  the  'Debates  of 
the  House  of  Commons'  have  been  used  the  most,  though  no 
ways  abused,  the  rest  appear  all  new,  and  are,  I  think, 
much  better  than  those  I  saw  with  you.  If  you  should 
think  to  take  any  of  them,  I  should  be  glad  of  your  direc 
tions  as  soon  as  possible,  as  Mr.  Dickinson  has  been  speak 
ing  about  them,  but  has  not  said  whether  he  would  take 
them  or  not.  Hughs,  whose  possession  they  are  in,  thinks 


*  This,  when  the  mighty  agent,  steam,  had  not  made  the  traveller 
independent  of  wind  and  tide,  was  a  very  good  passage. 

Mr.  John  Holmes,  of  Baltimore,  announces,  September  4th,  1807,  in 
a  letter  to  George  Read,  Esquire,  the  arrival  there  of  Mrs.  Read,  after 
a  pleasant  passage  by  packet-boat  of  only  seventeen  hours  from  New 
Castle  to  that  city!  Travellers  now  pass  daily  the  whole  distance  be- 
tweeri  Philadelphia  and  Baltimore  in  five  or  six  hours. 

4 


42  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

you  will  never  have  an  opportunity  of  getting  them  on  so 
good  terms.  I  would  only  add,  that  they  are  in  such  order 
that  you  need  not  be  ashamed  of  seeing  them  in  your 
library.  They  are  lettered  on  the  back  with  the  years  they 
belong  to,  in  a  neat  manner.  There  is  nothing  talked  of 
here  but  the  will  of  Colonel  Flower,  by  which  he  left  his 
whole  estate  to  his  widow,  a  woman  of  most  infamous  char 
acter,  who,  by  the  assistance  of  the  devil,  or  some  worse 
power  (if  any  worse  there  be),  obtained  such  an  influence 
over  him  as  to  make  him,  in  the  disposal  of  his  effects,  re 
ject  his  children  by  his  former  wife  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
leave  them  scarce  a  support.  There  has  been  a  hearing 
before  the  Register-General  for  several  days,  and  a  number 
of  witnesses  have  been  examined  on  each  side.  This  case 
will  be  concluded  to-morrow,  when  the  gentlemen  of  the 
law  are  to  speak;  but  I  am  told  the  pleadings  are  to  be  in 
private,  which  I  am  very  sorry  for,  as  I  should  be  glad  to 
hear  them.  The  counsel  for  the  children  are  Messrs. 
Tilghman,  Dickinson,  and  Galloway;  those  for  the  widow, 
Messrs.  Ross  and  Hunt,  who  have  quite  the  unpopular  side 
of  the  debate.  The  public  seem  greatly  to  interest  them 
selves  on  the  side  of  the  children.  I  can  have  no  oppor 
tunity  to  speak  to  Mr.  Ross  about  the  wine  until  this  affair 
is  over."  Mr.  Read  is  the  point  where  the  affections  of  his 
brothers  centred.  As  I  read,  almost  a  century  after  they 
happened,  these  occurrences,  the  like  to  which  make  up  the 
lives  of  most  men,  they  are  invested  with  interest  by  the 
reflection,  that  when  they  were  written,  nigh,  at  the  very 
door,  was  that  great  crisis  which  called  Mr.  Read  from  his 
profession,  his  farm,  and  his  family,  to  the  public  service, 
and  that  of  the  tranquil  pursuits  and  happiness  o£  private 
life  he  was  never  more  to  have  but  fitful  enjoyment. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  43 


APPENDICES   TO   CHAPTER  I. 


NOTICE  OF  JOHN  ROSS. 

JOHN  Ross  was  the  son  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross,  rector  of  Ini- 
manuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware,  and  was  born  in  the  year 
1714.* 

Where,  and  to  what  degree,  he  was  educated  does  not  appear.  His 
father,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  and  more  competent 
than  any  teacher  he  could  have  employed,  may  himself  have  under 
taken  the  task  of  instructing  the  son,  at  least  in  the  Latin  and  Greek 
languages. 

He  studied  law,  and  practised  it  with  great  success,  in  Philadelphia, 
for  many  years,  acquiring  by  his  practice  a  large  property. 

The  scanty  information  in  reference  to  John  Ross  that  I  have  been 
able  to  obtain,  is  contained  in  the  following  brief  extracts: 

"  The  manuscript  correspondence  of  Secretary  Peters  with  the  Pro 
prietaries  [of  Pennsylvania]  often  speaks  disparagingly  of  the  Phila 
delphia  bar,  whether  truly  or  from  umbrage  is  not  made  out,  as  they 
are  but  simple  declarations  of  opinion  without  any  reason  assigned.  In 
1743  he  speaks  of  John  Ross  as  successful  beyond  his  merits,  by  en 
grossing  as  much  as  all  the  others,  Hamilton  only  excepted.  In  1749 
he  says  of  them  generally,  'all  of  whom,  except  ^Francis  and  Moland, 
are  persons  of  no  knowledge,  and,  I  had  almost  said,  of  no  principle.' 
John  Ross  acquired  a  large  estate,  and  had  his  dwelling  well  out  of 
town." 

"  When  lawyers  practised  in  the  old  court-house,  lawyers  Ross  and 
Lawrence  had  their  offices  in  the  small  alley  called  Chancery  Lane,  a 
name  derived  from  them.  It  would  now  be  deemed  an  ignoble  place 
for  such  an  honored  profession  [as  the  legal]  ;  but  it  marked  the  day  of 
small  things,  and  verified  the  toast  called  for  by  the  same  John  Ross  of 
Mark  Wattson  (both  being  professed  jokers),  'the  day  he  hoped  for, 
when  two  lawyers  would  have  to  ride  on  the  same  horse.'  "f 

"When  the  disputes  between  Great  Britain  and  her  North  American 
colonies  commenced,  'the  lawyers,  who,  from  the  bent  of  their  studies 
and  their  habit  of  speaking  in  public,  were  best  qualified  to  take  the 
lead  in  the  various  assemblies  which  became  necessary,  were  little 
unanimous  in  the  Whig  cause.  A  few,  indeed,  of  the  most  conspicuous 


*  John  Ross,  son  to  George  Ross  (infant),  was  baptized  21st  October,  1714. — 
Register  of  Christening  in  the  Parish  of  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware, 
p.  1. 

f  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  p.  266. 


44  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

practitioners  in  Philadelphia  were  either  disaffected  or  lukewarm. 
Among-  them,  Mr.  Joseph  Galloway,  though  a  member  of  Congress, 
was  known  to  be  a  disapprover  of  the  measures  then  pursuing.  From 
Mr.  Chew,  Mr.  Tilghman,  and  Mr.  Shippen  no  activity  was  expected, 
they  being  proprietary-men,  and  in  the  enjoyment,  under  that  interest, 
of  offices  of  trust  and  importance.  Their  favorable  disposition  to  the 
American  cause  was  to  be  inferred  from  the  sons  of  the  two  first  having 
joined  the  militaiy  association."1 

"Mr.  John  Ross,  who  loved  ease  and  madeira  much  better  than  lib 
erty,  declared  for  neutrality,  saying,  he  well  knew  'that  let  who  would 
be  king,  he  should  be  subject.'  An  observation  which,  judging  only 
from  events,  may  be  thought  by  some  to  contain  as  much  intrinsic  wis 
dom  as  the  whole  of  the  '  Farmers'  Letters,'  with  all  the  legal,  political, 
and  constitutional  knowledge  they  display."* 

The  next  paragraph,  an  extract  from  the  deposition  of  the  late  George 
Head,  Esquire,  in  a  suit  brought  for  the  recovery  of  property  in  New 
Castle,  Delaware,  by  a  party  deriving  title  from  John  Ross,  exhibits 
him,  as  he  was,  delighting  his  friends  by  his  wit  or  humor,  and  winning 
their  warm  affections  by  his  amiableness. 

"  To  the  10th  interrogatory  this  deponent  saith  that  his  first  knowl 
edge  of  John  Ross  was  in  his  early  youth,  and  among  the  first  re 
collected  impressions  made  on  his  mind.  It  was  in  the  summer  of  the 
year  1773  or  1774  that  he  was  standing  at  the  front  door  of  the  late  resi 
dence  of  his  father,  in  New  Castle,  with  his  mother  late  in  the  after 
noon,  looking  with  amazement  and  terror  upon  an  approaching  storm, 
which  had  thrown  a  deep  gloom  upon  the  surrounding  scenery.  His 
mother  pointed  out  to  him  a  pilot-boat  coming  down  the  Delaware,  and 
which  the  violence  of  the  wind  appeared  to  have  almost  set  over,  ex 
pressing  apprehension  for  the  safety  of  the  people  [on  board  of  it]. 
Soon  after  the  sails  of  this  vessel  were  lowered,  and  a  small  boat  put 
off  from  it,  with  persons  on  board,  towards  the  shore,  and  run  in  upon 
the  mud  at  low  water-mark,  the  tide  then  having  ebbed.  That  imme 
diately  two  persons  jumped  out  of  this  boat,  and  took  from  thence  two 
other  persons  upon  their  backs,  and  walked  with  them  towards  the 
river-bank.  One  of  the  carriers,  however,  had  not  proceeded  far  with 
the  person  on  his  back  before  he  fell  with  him  in  the  mud.  In  a  few 
moments  after  they  came  up  to  the  place  where  the  deponent's  mother 
was,  and  were  her  brother  John  Ross  and  Captain  Swanwick.  The 
latter  was  the  man  who  had  been  tumbled  in  the  mud,  as  appeared 
from  much  of  it  sticking  to  his  garments.  He  was  a  very  corpulent 
man.  This  occurrence  excited  much  mirth  at  this  time,  which  was 
heightened  by  Mr.  Ross,  who  was  a  man  of  great  vivacity,  wit,  and 
humor.  And  this  deponent's  impression  of  John  Ross,  at  that  time, 
was  deepened  and  strengthened  by  the  notice  he  took  of  him  during 
the  evening,  telling  him  various  stories,  calculated  to  interest  and  amuse 
children.  Mr.  Ross  was  the  maternal  uncle  by  the  half-blood  of  this 
deponent." 

In  the  year  1760  Mr.  Ross  took  a  leading  and  active  part  in  the  good 
work  of  organizing  a  new  Protestant  Episcopal  congregation  in  Phila 
delphia,  as  appears  by  the  subjoined  extract  from  the  sermon  of  Dr. 

*  Graydon's  Memoirs,  p.  105,  first  edition. 


OF  GEORGE   BEAD.  45 

Stephen  II.  Tyng,  preached  1st  January,  1831,  at  the  consecration  of 
St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia,  then  recently  improved  and  repaired. 

"Mr.  McClenachan  had  officiated  for  a  year  as  assistant  minister  in 
Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  when  a  disagreement  arising  between  him 
and  the  other  ministers  of  that  church,  his  duties  in  that  capacity  ter 
minated,  and  a  portion  of  the  Christ  Church  congregation,  who  favored 
Mr.  McClenachan,  wishing-  still  to  enjoy  the  advantage  they  had  re 
ceived  from  his  doctrine  and  example,  withdrew  with  him,  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  separate  congregation  under  the  title  of  St.  PauVs 
Church  They  assembled  for  the  first  time  for  worship,  as  a  new  con 
gregation,  on  Sunday,  22d  June,  17 GO,  in  the  State  House,  where  a 
congregation  of  from  four  to  five  thousand  persons  assembled,  so  ex 
tensive  was  the  excitement  produced  by  these  events  when  they  occurred. 
The  use  of  this  spacious  building  was  granted  them  by  the  colonial 
authorities  until  their  church  could  be  completed,  which  was  immedi 
ately  undertaken  On  the  24th  of  June,  one  week  after  the  separation 
of  Mr.  McClenachan  from  Christ  Church,  the  articles  of  agreement  were 
signed  by  ninety-seven  members  of  the  congregration,  which  constituted 
them  as  the  congregation  of  St.  Paul's  Church,  and  which  still  form  the 
basis  of  their  congregational  charter  and  laws.  This  document  is  said 
to  have  been  written  by  Mr.  John  Ross,  a  distinguished  counsellor  of 
that  day,  who  had  been  a  steadfast  friend  of  Mr.  McClenachan  ;  who 
also  was  elected  the  first  warden  of  this  church,  and  whose  remains  still 
lie  beneath  the  floor  on  which  you  are  now  assembled.  From  the  same 
pen,  also,  proceeded  the  able  address  from  the  new  vestry  to  the  Bishop 
of  London,  and  most  of  the  early  correspondence  upon  our  records."* 

If  by  reason  of  the  extract  from  Graydon's  "Memoirs"  it  should  be 
thought  that  Mr.  Ross  was  a  mere  voluptuary,  a  little  consideration 
must  show  that  this  opinion  is  wide  of  the  truth  ;  for  a  lawyer,  who 
has  made  a  large  fortune  by  his  practice,  must  have  been  a  hard-working 
man  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life,  and  a  gentleman  who  employed  his 
wealth,  and  influence,  and  efforts  to  establish  a  new  congregation  of 
Christians,  and  to  build  them  a  house  of  worship,  and  then  accepted 
one  of  its  offices  and  discharged  its  duties,  must  have  felt  a  lively  in 
terest  in  the  spiritual  welfare  of  his  fellow-men,  such  as  no  man,  solely 
studious  of  his  ease  and  sensual  gratification,  could  have  felt. 

While  some  indulgence  may  be  claimed  for  the  neutrality  of  an  old 
man  in  a  doubtful  contest,  in  which,  if  he  engaged,  he  would  risk  much, 
it  must  be  admitted  Mr.  Ross  was  not  the  stutf  out  of  which  martyrs 
and  patriots  are  made.f 

Mr.  Ross  died  the  8th  of  May,  11*76,  and  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  nee 
Ashe,  on  the  7th  of  October  of  that  year. 


*  Sermon  of  Dr.  S.  H.  Tyng,  preached  at  the  consecration  of  St.  Paul's  Church, 
Philadelphia,  January  1st,  1831,  pp.  8,  9;  Dorr's  History  of  Christ  Church, 
Philadelphia,  pp.  119,'  120. 

f  "September  2oth,  1775,  Thursday. — Made  an  excursion  with  Congress,  etc., 
in  the  new  row-gallies  On  our  return,  Dr  Rush,  Zebly,  and  Counsellor  Koss 
joined  us.  Koss,  a  lawyer  of  great  eloquence,  and  heretofore  of  extensive  prac 
tice ;  a  great  Tory,  but  now,  they  say,  beginning  to  be  converted.  He  said  'the 
Americans  were  making  the  noblest  and  firmest  resistance  to  tyranny  ever  made 
by  any  people.  The  acts  [of  Parliament]  were  grounded  in  wrong,  injustice,  and 
oppression.  The  great  town  of  Boston  remarkably  punished  without  being 
heard.'  " — Works  of  John  Adams,  Diary,  vol.  ii.  p.  429. 


46  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


LETTERS  OF  DR.  FRANKLIX  TO  JOHX  ROSS. 

Mrs.  Marcia  G.  Ross,  widow  of  David  Ross,  a  grandson  of  the 
Reverend  George  Ross,  gave  to  the  author,  6th  May,  1852,  four  letters 
of  Dr.  Franklin  to  John  Ross.  One  of  the  letters,  that  of  14th  May, 
1768,  may  be  found  in  volume  vi.  of  Dr.  Franklin's  Works,  page  278; 
but  as  the  remaining  three  of  these  letters  do  not  appear  in  his  printed 
correspondence,  it  is  concluded  they  are  unpublished,  and  they  are 
therefore  subjoined  to  the  foregoing  notice  of  John  Ross. 


No.  1, 

"  LONDON,  February  14th,  1765. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  obliging  favor  of  December  20th,  and 
am  glad  to  find  that,  though  so  distant  from  them,  I  still  live  in  the 
remembrance  of  my  friends. 

"We  have  been  of  late  so  much  engaged  in  our  general  American 
affairs  that  it  was  necessary  to  let  what  related  particularly  to  our 
Province  to  sleep  a  little  for  the  present;  but  it  is  nevertheless  working 
gradually  to  its  point,  and  will,  I  believe,  end  as  we  wish  it.  For  the 
Quakers,  who,  to  show  their  moderation  as  regards  the  proprietors, 
have  (of  themselves)  undertaken  to  persuade  them  to  reasonable  meas 
ures,  will,  on  finding  them  obstinate,  give  their  whole  force  and  weight 
to  procure  a  happy  event  to  the  petition,  especially  as  they  dread  no 
thing  more  than  what  they  see  otherwise  inevitable,  their  friends  in 
Pennsylvania  falling  totally  under  the  domination  of  Presbyterians. 

"The  changes  you  mention  in  the  magistracy  indicate  the  measures 
intended,  and  manifest  the  means  by  which  they  are  to  be  brought  about. 
The  hasty  setting  aside  such  unexceptionable  magistrates  merely  for 
their  political  opinions  was  not,  however,  a  step  the  most  prudent,  for 
I  think  it  will  have  different  effects  from  those  proposed  by  it. 

"The  stamp-act,  notwithstanding  all  the.  opposition  we  have  been 
able  to  give  it,  will  pass.  Every  step  in  the  law,  every  newspaper, 
advertisement,  and  almanac  is  severely  taxed.  If  this  should,  as  I 
imagine  it  will,  occasion  less  law  and  less  printing,  it  will  fall  particu 
larly  hard  on  us  lawyers  and  printers. 

"The  Parliament  will,  however,  ease  us  in  some  particulars  relating 
to  our  commerce,  and  a  scheme  is  under  consideration  to  furnish  us 
with  a  currency,  without  which  we  can  neither  pay  debts  nor  duties. 

"  It  is  said  here  among  the  merchants  that  North  America  owes  them 
no  less  than  four  millions  sterling.  Think  what  a  sum  the  interest  of 
this  debt  amounts  to! — pay  them  honestly. 

"  Be  pleased  to  present  my  hearty  respects  to  our  friends  Potts,  Paw- 
lin,  and  Morton.  They  do  not,  I  dare  say,  sleep  a  jot  the  worse  for 
their  dismission.  There  are  times  in  which 

1  The  post  of  honor  is  a  private  station.' 

But  those  times  will  not,  I  think,  long  continue.     At  least  nothing  in 
inv  power  shall  be  wanting  to  change  them. 

"  My  respects  to  Mrs.  Ross,  and  my  young  friends  of  your  family ; 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  47 

and  believe  me,  with  sincere  regard,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  hum 
ble  servant, 

"B.  FRANKLIN. 

"  JOHN  Ross,  Esquire,  Philadelphia. 

"  P.S. — I  send  you  a  pamphlet,  wrote,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  under 
the  direction  of  the  ministry,  with  a  view  to  make  us  Americans  easy, 
which  shows  some  tenderness  for  us." 


No,  2, 

"  LONDON,  June  8th,  1765. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — If,  according  to  the  custom  here,  I  congratulate  you  on 
your  having  a  severe  fit  of  the  gout,  I  cannot  avoid  mixing  some  con 
dolence  with  my  congratulation,  for  I  too  have  lately  had  a  visit  or 
rather  visitation  from  the  same  friend  (or  enemy)  that  confined  me  near 
a  fortnight.  And  notwithstanding  the  salutary  effects  people  talk  of  to 
comfort  us  under  our  pain,  I  fancy  we  should  both  of  us  willingly  haz 
ard  being  without  them,  rather  than  have  these  means  of  procuring 
them  too  frequently  repeated.  I  may  possibly  be,  as  they  tell  me, 
greatly  obliged  to  the  gout;  but  the  'condition  of  this  obligation  is 
such'  that  I  cannot  heartily  say  I  thank  ye.  I  hope,  however,  your  slow 
recovery  proved  at  length  a  perfect  one.  And  I  pray  that  your  estab 
lished  health  may  long  continue. 

"  The  outrages  committed  by  the  frontier  people  are  really  amazing  ! 
But  impunity  for  former  riots  has  emboldened  them.  Rising  in  arms 
to  destroy  property,  public  and  private,  and  insulting  the  King's  troops 
and  fort,  is  going  great  lengths  indeed.  If,  in  Mr.  Chief's  opinion,  our 
Resolves  might  be  called  rebellion,  what  does  the  gentleman  call  this? 
I  can  truly  say,  it  gives  me  great  concern.  Such  practices  throw  a  dis 
grace  over  our  whole  country  that  can  only  be  wiped  off  by  exemplary 
punishment  of  the  actors,  which  our  weak  government  cannot  or  will 
not  inflict.  And  the  people  I  pity  for  their  want  of  sense.  Those  who 
have  inflamed  and  misled  them  have  a  deal  to  answer  for. 

"  Our  Petition,  which  has  been  becalmed  for  some  time,  is  now  get 
ting  under  way  again,  and  all  appearances  are  for  us.  I  hope  before 
Captain  Friend  sails  to  give  you  some  account  of  our  progress. 

"  My  respectful  compliments  to  Mrs.  Ross,  and  my  friends,  the  young 
ladies,  to  whom  I  wish  every  felicity. 

"I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  B.  FRANKLIN. 

"  JOHN  Ross,  Esquire,  Philadelphia." 


No,  3, 

"  LONDON,  April  llth,  1767. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  received  your  favor  of  December  8th  and  February 
22d,  and  thank  you  for  the  particular  accounts  you  send  me  of  affairs 
on  your  side  the  water,  which  are  very  agreeable  to  me  to  read. 

""Here  public  affairs  are  in  great  disorder;  a  strong  opposition 
against  the  ministry,  which,  at  the  same  time,  is  thought  not  to  be  well 


48  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

united  ;  and  daily  apprehensions  of  new  changes  make  it  extremely  diffi 
cult  to  get  forward  with  business.  We  must  use  patience.  This  satis 
faction  we  have,  that  there  is  scarce  a  man  of  weight,  in  or  out  of  the 
ministry,  that  has  not  now  a  favorable  opinion  of  the  proposed  change 
of  government  in  the  Proprietary  colonies ;  but  during  the  present  vio 
lent  heats,  occasioned  by  some  conduct  of  the  Assemblies  of  New  York 
and  Boston,  and  which  the  opposition  aggravate  highly  in  order  to  dis 
tress  the  friends  of  America  in  the  present  ministry,  nothing  so  little 
interesting  to  them  as  our  application  can  get  forward. 

"  Your  messages  on  the  subject  of  the  Circuit-Bill  are  not  yet  arrived. 
I  much  want  to  see  them. 

"  I  send  you  a  little  essay  of  an  inscription  to  the  memory  of  my 
departed,  amiable  young  friend,  whose  loss  I  deplore  with  you  most 
sincerely.  If  it  has  been  long  coming  to  your  hand,  I  hope  that  has 
occasioned  your  being  furnished  with  another  and  a  better.  The  style 
is  simple  and  plain,  and  more  proper  for  such  things  than  affected  orna 
mental  expression. 

"I  am  looking  out  for  a  chariot  for  you,  which  I  shall  send  you  as 
soon  as  possible. 

"  With  great  esteem,  I  am,  dear  friend,  yours  affectionately, 

"B.  FRANKLIN. 

"  JOHN  lloss,  Esquire,  Philadelphia,  per  packet  via  New  York." 


B. 

WE  who  have  hereunto  subscribed  our  names  do  acknowledge  to  be 
duly  enlisted,  pursuant  to  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
Government,  in  Richard  McWilliams'  company  of  foot,  in  the  regiment 
whereof  William  Armstrong,  Esquire,  is  Colonel,  in  New  Castle 
County,  28th  December,  1757. 

Samuel  Van  Leuvenigh,      John  Patterson,  James  Craig, 

Win.  Spenser,  Jr.,                 John  Humes,  Christopher  Stoop, 

John  McClughan,                 William  Creath,  James  Eves, 

Peter  Jaquet,                         James  Lefever,  John  Makel, 

Jacob  Colesberry,                  Isaac  Janvier,  Matthew  Cannon, 

Thomas  McKean,                  Stephen  Enos,  Peter  Jaquet, 

Attorney  at  Law,  George  Peterson,  Jr.,  John  Jaquet, 

Jno.  Thompson,                    JohnTSilsbee,  John  Brock, 

Joseph  Enos,                           Wm.  Walker,  Michael  Blew, 

Richard  Eves,                         Jacobus  Haines,  Jr.,  Allan  Wilson, 

Wm.  Blackburn,                    Daniel  McGennis,  Thomas  Stidham, 

Jas.  Boggs,                               Samuel  Janvier,  William  Slebey, 

John  Stewart,                          Robt.  McMann,  Wm.  Hunt. 

Thomas  Sproul,                      John  Dowal,  Richard  Derham, 

Joseph  Jaquet,                       John  Stoop,  Jr.,  Philip  Van  Leuvenigh, 

Magnus  Kettle,                      Thomas  Sankey,  Jacob  Janvier, 

Joseph  Tatlow,                      Philip  Janvier,  Isaac  Dowell, 

Israel  Stalcup,                        John  Booth,  Patrick  Hughes, 

John  Moody,                          Raynolds  Ramsay,  John  McNamee, 

William  Humes,                   Cornelius  Garretson,  Wm.  Clark, 


OF  GEORGE   READ. 


49 


Peter  Morton, 
John  McFarland, 
Jeremiah  Pratt, 
AVilliam  Spencer, 
David  Campbell, 
James  Dyer, 
Robert  Furniss, 
George  James, 
Richard  Janvier, 
Samuel  MeMullin, 
Jacob  Ross,  M.D., 
George  Read,  Att., 
Townsend  Matthews, 
John  Bovd, 
Samuel  Dick, 
John  Harris, 

his 
William  x  Peterson, 

mark, 

David  Finnoy,  Attor., 
William  Nesbit, 
Tho   Jaquett, 
Abraham  Pratt, 


Charles  Springer, 
Cornelius  Devining, 
Cornelius  Heines, 
David  Whittito, 
Henry  Horan, 
Hector  McNeil, 
Jno.  Anderson, 
John  Kius, 
Jno    Eves, 
Jasper  Clawson, 
John  Clawson, 
Maken  McN  eight, 
Peter  Stidham, 
Patrick  Yeates, 
Peter  Sufridus  Alrick, 
Robert  Scott, 
Robt.  Harthorn, 
Thomas  Pike, 
Wm.  Floyd, 
Wm.  Ervin, 
Wm.  Marchent, 
John  McNoltey, 
Peter  Vincy, 


"Wm.  Devers, 
Wm.  Staford, 
Walter  Hughes, 
Jacob  Kroock, 
Joseph  Kirk, 
Morton  Morton, 
John  Chatham,  Jr., 
John  M.  Moreland, 
Stephen  Bennett, 
Frederick  Smith, 
David  'Riddle, 
Jno.  Hall, 
Isaac  Justice, 
Wm.  Conyngham, 
Wm.  Crawford, 
Baston  Malgold, 
Daniel  Graham, 
Philip  Stoop, 
Samuel  Johnston, 
Wm.  McDowell, 
James  Patterson, 
Michael  King, 
William  McKenney. 


The  foregoing  "  List"  was  taken,  with  other  public  papers,  by  the 
British,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine,  from  New  Castle  County, 
Delaware,  to  New  York,  from  whence  they  were  brought  back  by  James 
Booth,  secretary  of  said  State,  among  whose  papers  this  "  List"  was 
found  by  his  grandson,  Mr.  Joseph  Henry  Rogers,  who  has  kindly  per 
mitted  me  to  copy  it -as  above. 

WILLIAM  T.  READ. 


C- 
NOTICE  OF  JOHN  DICKINSON. 

JOHN  DICKINSON  was  the  eldest  son  of  Samuel  Dickinson  and  Mary 
Cadwallader,  his  second  wife  (descended  from  one  of  the  first  settlers 
of  Pennsylvania),  and  was  born  in  Maryland  in  1132.  His  father, 
several  years  after  his  birth,  removed  to  the  vicinity  of  Dover,  in  Kent 
County,  Delaware,  and  was  presiding  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common 
Pleas  there.  He  owned  a  large  estate  in  land  in  Kent  County.  Chan 
cellor  Killen,  originally  a  carpenter  (as  I  have  been  informed),  was, 
when  still  a  young  man,  tutor  to  John  Dickinson.  Where  Mr.  Dickin 
son  completed  his  education  does  not  appear,  but  it  may  safely  be  con 
cluded,  from  the  extent  of  his  knowledge  (especially  of  the  classics), 
and  his  style  or  writing  (characterized  by  elegance,  purity,  copiousness, 
and  vigor),  that  his  instructors  were  competent  and  faithful.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  "  Farmers'  Letters,"  by  which  he  is  most  extensively  known, 
he  wrote  nine  letters,  signed  "Fabius,"  advocating  the  ratification  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  fourteen  under  this  signature, 
to  inform  his  fellow-citizens  in  regard  to  the  French  Revolution,  still  in 
progress,  and  foster  and  increase  friendly  feeling  for  the  French  people. 


50  LI&E  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

His  latter  years  were  spent  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  whither  he  re 
tired  from  public  life.  There  his  style  of  living  was  liberal,  as  suited 
his  ample  fortune,  but  not  inconsistent  with  the  simplicity  of  the  sect 
of  Quakers  to  which  he  belonged,  and  he  found  occupation  and  amuse 
ment  in  his  books  and  the  society  of  friends,  and  consolation  under  the 
inevitable  ills  of  old  age  in  acts  of  benevolence  and  the  duties  of  reli 
gion.*  "  Christianity,"  in  a  note  to  the  second  series  of  his  "  Letters" 
signed  "  Fabius,"  he  styles  "  the  divine  religion  of  our  blessed  Saviour." 
He  died  in  Wilmington  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  February,  1808,  and 
was  interred  in  the  Friends'  burying-ground.  No  stone  marks  his  grave. 
His  political  writings  were  published  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  in  1801, 
in  two  octavo  volumes.  By  his  purity,  patriotism,  and  benevolence, 
his  statesmanship,  his  oratory,  and  chiefly  by  his  writings,  he  is  entitled 
to  be  ranked  with  the  most  eminent  of  his  contemporaries. f 

John  Adams  (Diary,  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  360),  meeting  with  Mr.  Dick 
inson  (31st  August,  1774)  at  the  lodgings  of  General  Ward,  thus  de 
scribes  him  :  "  Just  recovered  from  an  illness,  he  is  a  shadow  :  tall,  but 
slender  as  a  reed,  pale  as  ashes;  one  would  think,  at  first  sight,  he 
could  not  live  a  month,  yet,  upon  a  more  attentive  inspection,  he  looks 
as  if  the  springs  of  life  were  strong  enough  for  many  years." 

An  intercepted  letter  of  John  Adams  (July  24th,  1775)  to  General 
Warren  contained  this  paragraph  :  "  A  certain  great  fortune,  and  pid 
dling  genius  [meaning  John  Dickinson],  whose  fame  has  been  trumpeted 
so  loudly,  has  given  a  cast  of  folly  to  our  whole  doings." — Diary,  pp. 
411,  412.  Mr.  Dickinson  was  justly  offended,  and  expressed  his  resent 
ment  because  of  this  disparaging  opinion  of  him,  as  appears  by  this 
further  extract  from  Mr.  Adams's  Diary,  p.  423:  "Friday,  September 
15th,  1775. — "Walking  to  the  State  House,  this  morning,  I  met  Mr. 
Dickinson  on  foot  in  Chestnut  Street.  We  passed  near  enough  to  touch 
elbows.  He  passed  without  moving  his  hat,  head,  or  hands.  I  bowed 
and  pulled  off  my  hat.  He  passed  haughtily  by.  The  cause  of  his 
offence,  no  doubt,  is  the  letter  which  Gage  has  published  in  Draper's 
paper.  I  shall  for  the  future  pass  him  in  the  same  manner ;  but  1  was 
determined  to  make  my  bow,  to  know  his  temper.  We  are  not  to  be  on 
speaking  or  bowing  terms  for  the  time  to  come." 

"  1  saw  John  Adams,"  said  Dr.  Rush,  "after  the  publication  of  this 
intercepted  letter,  walk  the  streets  of  Philadelphia  alone  (in  1775),  an 
object  of  nearly  universal  scorn  and  detestation."  This  statement  is 
corroborated  by  other  witnesses. J 

I  met,  accidentally,  in  "  Niles's  Register"  (vol.  xii.  p.  300,  of  January 
3d,  1818),  with  the  following  anecdote,  so  remarkable  that  I  extract  it 
from  this  voluminous  work,  where  it  will  probably  escape  the  notice  of 
most  persons,  and  append  it  as  a  note  to  the  foregoing  sketch  of  John 
Dickinson. 

"A  circumstance  once  happened  to  me  that  showed  the  power  of  the 
mind  abstracted  from  personal  sensibilities.  Fifteen  or  sixteen  years 
ago,  then  residing  at  Wilmington,  Delaware,  as  I  passed  the  house  of 

*  Reminiscences  of  Wilmington,  pp.  290,  201,  292. 

f  Delaware  Register,  vol.  i.  pp.  178  to  189  inclusive;  Encyclopedia  Americana, 
vol.  iv  pp.  227,  228. 

I  2d  Adams's  Writings,  pp.  423,  513. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  51 

the  late  venerable  John  Dickinson,  at  twelve  o'clock  in  the  day,  he  was 
standing  in  the  door,  and  invited  me  in.  After  reproving;  me  for  not 
having:  called  to  see  him,  for  he  had  been  a  little  unwell,  he  said  he 
would  have  a  glass  of  old  wine  with  me,  the  first  that  he  had  drank  for 
six  weeks.  After  taking  a  couple  of  glasses  of  wine  in  instant  succes 
sion,  he  suddenly  sat  down,  and  abruptly  asked  me  what  I  thought  of 
the  discussion  then  going  on  in  Congress  on  the  great  question  about 
the  judiciary.  Having  very  briefly  given  my  opinion,  he  said  in  a 
sprightly  manner,  'I'll  tell  thee  mine,' — on  which 'he  began  an  argu 
ment,  soon  became  animated,  and  was  uneasy  in  his  seat.  As  he  pro 
ceeded,  he  elevated  his  voice,  and  finally,  rising  slowly  and  unconsciously 
from  his  chair,  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  addressed  me  as  if  I  had  been 
the  chairman  of  a  legislative  body  with  all  its  members  present.  I  never 
have  heard  a  discourse  that  was  comparable  to  his  speech,  for  its  fire 
and  spirit  poured  forth  in  a  torrent,  and  clothed  in  the  most  beautiful 
and  persuasive  language.  The  graceful  gestures  of  the  orator,  his  fine 
and  venerable  figure,  interesting  countenance,  and  locks  '  white  as  wool,' 
formed  a  tout  ensemble  that  riveted  me  to  my  chair  with  admiration. 
His  delirium,  if  it  may  be  so  called,  lasted  for  nearly  half  an  hour,  when 
it  was  interrupted  by  one  of  the  family  entering  the  room.  He  stopped 
instantly,  with  a  word  half  finished  on  his  lips,  and  sat  down  in  great 
confusion  ;  apologized  for  his  strange  behavior,  and  entirely  dropped 
the  subject.  Mr.  Dickinson  was  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  scholars  that  our  country  has  produced;  but,  per 
haps,  he  never  pronounced  a  speech  so  eloquent,  so  chaste,  and  so 
beautiful  as  that  which  he  delivered  before  me,  as  stated.  It  was  his 
soul,  rather  than  his  person,  that  acted  on  the  occasion,  and  a  master 
spirit  it  was.  The  argument  was  in  favor  of  a  repeal  of  the  judiciary 
act." 


ID. 
AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  REY.  GEORGE  ROSS. 

THE  following  autobiography  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross,  with  the 
letter  prefixed  to  it,  was  copied  by  the  author,  August,  1835,  from  an 
ancient  manuscript  (itself  a  copy)  in  the  possession  of  his  brother, 
George  Read,  Junior,  the  words  contained  between  hooks  or  brackets — 
thus,  [  ] — having  been  supplied  by  him  as  suggested  by  the  context. 

"MY  VERY  GOOD  SON, — You  have,  inclosed,  an  answer  to  your  re 
peated  request,  wherein  you  may  observe  the  easy  and  regular  steps  [by 
which]  Providence  conducted  me  to  settle  in  this  country.  If  my  pos 
terity  contract  any  blemish,  it  must  be  from  themselves:  no  original 
guilt  can  be  imputed  to  them.  It  is  well  the  rise  of  many  families  in 
these  parts,  like  the  head  of  the  Nile,  is  unknown,  and  their  glory  con 
sists  in  their  obscurity.  It  is  your  satisfaction  that  it  is  otherwise  with 
you:  your  escutcheon  is  without  blot  or  stain.  Contend,  therefore,  for 
the  honor  of  your  family  by  a  kind  and  generous  behavior  towards 
the  several  branches  of  it,  relieve  them  from  contempt  by  your  beneti- 


52  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

cence,  and  put  them  above  the  world  by  exercising  that  ability  towards 
them  which  God  has  blessed  you  with,  which,  if  you  do, 'God  will 
gather  you,  in  his  good  time,  to  your  honest  and  worthy  progenitors. 
1  have  a  quick  sense  of  your  filial  favors,  and  you  may  be  assured,  dear 
son,  that  I  am  your  most  obliged  and  affectionate  father. 

"GEORGE  Ross. 
"  JOHN  Ross,  Esquire." 

George  Ross,  Rector  (as  he  is  styled  in  his  presentation)  of  the 
Church  in  New  Castle,  was  second  son  that  came  to  man's  estate  of 
David  Ross,  of  Balblair,  a  gentleman  of  moderate  fortune  but  of  great 
integrity,  born  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  in  the  Shire  of  Ross,  in  the 
Parish  of  Fern  [near  the  town  of  Tain],  about  four  or  five  miles  [from 
that  part  of]  the  shire  between  two  friihs.  the  one  the  .Frith  of  Murray, 
the  other  the  Frith  of  Dornoch.  The  land  lying  between  the  two  friths 
terminates  in  a  noted  point  called  Tarbat-Ness.* 

He  was  put  to  school  very  early,  and  made  some  progress  in  the 
Latin  tongue  under  the  care  of  the" school-master  [in  Tain],  and  being 
of  a  promising  genius,  his  father  asked  him,  as  they  were  going  to  a 
farm  a  little  distance  from  home,  "  What  he  would  be  ?"  to  which  be 
answered,  "A  scholar."  Young  as  he  was,  credo  inspiration?.  "A 
scholar  you  shall  be,"  replied  his  father. 

When  he  was  about  fourteen  years  of  age,  his  eldest  brother,  Andrew, 
requested  his  father  to  send  him  to  him  to  Edinburgh.  Accordingly 
he  was  sent,  but  for  the  first  twelve  months  little  to  his  advantage,  for 
instead  of  advancing  him  in  his  learning,  he  made  him  attend  his  office, 
and  write  from  morning  till  night, — often  without  his  dinner, — to  his 
great  disappointment;  not  through  want  of  affection  to  his  brother,  but 
hurry  of  business  and  much  company.  His  father,  being  informed  of 
this  low  or  no  education,  ordered  him  to  be  put  to  school  and  fitted  for 
the  University.  Andrew  lost  his  slave,  and  George  was  once  more  put 
in  the  way  of  being  a  scholar. 

He  took  his  degree  of  Master  of  Arts,  in  Edinburgh,  in  170(».  With 
this  feather  in  his  cap  he  returned  home,  and  became  tutor  to  the  Lord 
of  May,  his  son,  for  which  [tutorship]  he  was  allowed  ten  pounds  ster 
ling  per  annum, — great  wages  in  that  part  of  the  world,  and  at  that 
time  of  day.f 

[Having  some]  cash  of  his  own,  and  somewhat  anxious  to  see  Edin 
burgh  again,  and  taking  [leave  of  his  father]  the  [last  time  he  ever  saw 
him],  not  without  some  coolness  on  the  son's  side,  for  that  the  father 

did  not  add  weight  enough  to   his  blessing,  as  the  son  expected, and 

even  at  that  time  he  was  not  without  the  thought  of  foreign  countries, 
—I  say,  taking  leave  of  his  father,  he  proceeded  on  his  journey  to 
Edinburgh,  and  there  entered  his  name  among  the  students  of  divinity, 
worthy  Mr.  Meldrurn  being  the  professor.  There  was  great  hope  of 
seeing  worthy  Mr.  George  mount  the  Presbyterian  pulpit,  but,  alas!  the 
closer  he  applied  himself  to  reading,  the  stronger  his  aversion  grew  to 
the  party  then  uppermost  in  Scotland.  He  observed  the  leading  men 

*  Ness,  a  termination  common  in  Scandinavian  geographical  names,  and  signi 
fying  promontory.     See  page  6<3. 
f  See  page  G6. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  53 

of  that  side  to  be  sour,  censorious,  and  hypocritical.  He  could  not 
digest  the  ministers'  odd  gestures,  grimaces,  dry  mouths,  and  screwed 
faces  in  their  pulpits.  He  could  not  comply  with  their  practices  even 
to  save  him  from  want  of  bread.  Their  "  horrible  decretum  (as  Calvin, 
the  author  of  it,  calls  it)  of  reprobation"  gave  him  a  surfeit  of  their 
principles,  and  as  to  their  church-government,  he  was  satisfied,  it  was  a 
spurious  brat  (the  genuine  product  of  Core's  rebellion)  of  proud  pres 
byters  [revolting]  against  their  lawful  bishops.  While  he  passed 
among  the  students  for  an  orthodox  brother,  he  was  diligently  inform 
ing  himself  of  the  principles  of  the  Church  of  England,  which  [he] 
approved  of  so  well  that  he  was  resolved,  as  soon  as  he  could  find  en 
couragement,  to  set  out  for  England.  Mr.  ^Eneas  McKenzie,  chaplain 
to  the  Earl  of  Cromarty,  Secretary  of  State  for  Scotland,  was  then  at 
London,  to  whom  he  wrote  on  this  subject.  Mr.  McKenzie,  [being  of 
the]  same  way  of  thinking,  [answered  that]  he  might  depend  upon 
[being  provided  for  during  the]  war,  "the  least,"  says  he,  "you  can 
expect."  Mr.  McKenzie's  letter  he  communicated  to  his  brother,  who. 
upon  mature  deliberation  with  some  of  the  leading'  men  of  the  Episcopal 
party  in  Scotland,  procured  him  a  bill  of  exchange  for  £18  ll.s.  9c?. 
sterling.  Thus  strengthened  and  provided,  and  honored  with  a  recom 
mendation  from  the  Bishop  of  Edinburgh,  then  ousted  by  the  revolution, 
he  bid  adieu  to  his  native  country  (after  suffering  much  in  the  flesh  by 
college  diet  among  a  set  of  canting  Pharisees),  and  went  to  London  by 
sea  ;  and,  upon  his  safe  arrival,  waited  on  the  Bishop  of  London,  who 
received  him  very  kindly,  and  ordered  him  to  attend  the  next  ordination, 
at  which  he  and  his  friend  McKenzie,  with  several  other  candidates, 
were  put  in  deacon's  orders.  This  happened  nine  days  after  his  arrival 
at  London,  which  proved  no  small  mortification  to  the  [dominant] 
party  at  Edinburgh,  and  triumph  to  those  of  the  contrary  party. 

He  was  soon  promoted  to  a  chaplaincy  of  eighty  pounds  sterling  [per 
annum]  on  board  a  man-of-war.  But  the  captain  being  a  haughty  fel 
low,  he  soon  grew  sick  of  that  station,  and  resolved  to  quit  it  as  soon 
as  he  could  be  otherwise  provided  for.  Returning  to  London,  he  found 
his  friend  McKenzie  making  application  to  the  Society  for  Propagating 
the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  then  newly  incorporated,  for  a  mission. 
He  was  easily  prevailed  [upon]  to  join  with  him  in  so  commendable  a 
design.  Upon  the  Society's  being  satisfied,  after  full  trial  of  their  char 
acter  and  abilities,  they  were  both  admitted  missionaries:  McKenzie 
for  Slaten,  in  Ireland,  and  Ross  for  New  Castle,  who  arrived  there  in 
1703  [and  continued],  save  for  a  few  years,  when  he  removed  for  his 
health's  sake,  till  this  time,  being  in  his  seventy-third  year.  How  he 
behaved  is  known  from  the  constant  regard  [of  the  Society  for  him]. 

GEORGE  Ross. 

New  Castle,  to  which  Mr.  Ross  was  appointed  a  missionary  of  the 
Church  of  England,  has  borne  more  names  than  any  other  town  in  the 
United  States.  It  was  called  "  Sandhoec,"  "  New  Amstel,"  and  "  Fort 
Kasimer,"  by  the  Dutch;  "Grape  Wine  Point,"  and  (in  1675)  "Dela 
ware  Town, "and  (in  1604)  "New  Castle,"  by  the  English.  It  was  laid 
out  by  the  Swedes  in  1631,  and  called  by  them  "  New  Stockholm." 
The  Dutch  built  Fort  Kasimer  in  1651.  The  Dutch  West  India  Com 
pany,  being  much  indebted  to  the  city  of  Amsterdam  and  other  persons, 


54  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

to  relieve  themselves  (A.D.  1656),  ceded  to  that  eity  Fort  Kasimer,  with 
the  territory  extending  from  the  Christiana  River  (including  it)  to 
Bombay  Hook,  and  as  far  west  as  the  land  of  the  Minquas  extended,  and 
was  formally  transferred  by  Governor  Stuyvesant,  in  behalf  of  this  Com 
pany  and  the  States-General  of  the  Netherlands.  Immediately  after 
wards  the  city  of  Amsterdam  sent  forth  a  colony  to  this  territory, 
which  was  called  "New  Amstel."  In  the  spring  of  1656  a  number  of 
families  from  New  York  migrated  to  this  territory,  and  the  Governor- 
General  gave  seventy-five  deeds  for  land,  chiefly  lots  in  New  Amstel, 
upon  condition  that  sixteen  or  twenty  families  should  settle  together  for 
safety.  This  condition  was  only  complied  with  at  Fort  Kasimer.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  New  Castle. — Hazzard's  Annals  of  Pennsylvania 
from  1609  to  1682,  pp  220,  227,  228.  The  Swedish  Governor  Pointz 
resisted  to  the  utmost  of  his  power  the  occupation  of  the  Dutch.  He 
first  protested  against  it,  and  then  sent  troops  to  recover  possession, 
under  Risingh,  who  took  Fort  Kasimer  by  stratagem.  In  1C>55  the 
Dutch  Governor  Stuyvesant  directed  an  expedition  against  the  Swedish 
territory  on  the  Delaware  (seven  hundred  men  in  two  sloops),  who  con 
quered  it,  destroying  its  public  buildings  (the  fort  at  Tinicum  included), 
and  carried  its  chief  inhabitants  to  New  York,  from  whence  they  were 
deported  to  Holland.  The  common  people,  however,  were  permitted  to 
remain,  but  under  the  laws  of  their  conquerors.  This  territory  was 
then  annexed  to  the  "New  Netherlands."  It  was  included  in  the  grant 
of  the  "  New  Netherlands"  to  the  Duke  of  York.  In  1672  New  Castle 
was  incorporated,  its  officers  being  a  bailiff  and  six  associates,  with 
power  to  try  causes,  not  exceeding  ten  pounds,  without  appeal;  and 
a  sheriff  to  be  annually  elected,  whose  jurisdiction  was  over  the  town, 
and  also  extended  along  the  river.  The  inhabitants  of  New  Castle 
were  further  granted  free  trade,  without  making  entry  at  New  York, 
as  previously  required  of  them.  In  this  state  it  continued  until  in  the 
war  which  ensued  between  England  and  the  States-General,  the  "  New 
Netherland"  territory  was  recovered  by  the  Dutch,  and  again  subjected 
to  their  laws,  but  for  a  brief  period;  for,  at  the  termination  of  this  war, 
the  "New  Netherlands"  were  exchanged,  by  an  article  of  the  peace  of 
Breda,  for  Surinam,  in  1667.  From  that  time  the  three  counties  on 
Delaware  were  held  and  governed  as  an  appendage  to  New  York. 
William  Penn  landed  at  New  Castle  in  1682,  assembled  the  inhabitants 
at  the  court-house,  made  them  a  speech,  and  was  received  with  joyful 
acclamation.  Possession  of  New  Castle  and  "the  three  lower  counties 
on  Delaware"  was  symbolically  delivered  by  handing  him  "  turf  and 
water."* 

Gabriel  Thomas,  in  his  "Account  of  Pennsylvania,"  A.D.  1697, 
states,  "  both  in  Philadelphia  and  New  Castle  there  are  curious  wharves 
and  large  and  fine  timber-yards."  In  1699  Penn  returned  to  Pennsyl 
vania  after  an  absence  of  fifteen  years,  and  remained  there  twro  years, 
during  which  one  hundred  laws  were  passed,  the  Legislature  sitting,  to 
please  the  lower  counties,  chiefly  at  New  Castle.  In  1708  James  Logan 
states  some  reasons  why  New  Castle  did  not  prosper,  and  was  not  more 
considerable  then  than  thirty  years  before, — to  wit,  the  unhealthinessof 
the  place,  and  disorderly  way  of  living  which  prevailed, — the  Finns 


*  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  pp   9,  10,  16,  45,  46,  85. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  55 

and  Dutch  there  being1  addicted  to  drinking  spirituous  liquors  overmuch  ; 
but  as  he  charges  the  "lower  counties"  with  having  designed  and 
effected  a  separation  from  Pennsylvania,  with  a  view  to  divert  the  trade 
of  Philadelphia,  in  part,  to  New  Castle  (in  which  they  failed),  evidently 
looking  upon  her,  as  a  would-be-rival  of  his  city,  with  no  friendly  eye, 
prejudice  may  have  exaggerated  both  the  unhealthiness  and  intemper 
ance  he  attributed  to  her. 

The  following  extract  from  Hawkins's  "  History  of  the  Society  for 
Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts"  (pp.  118,  119,  120)  furnishes 
the  history  of  the  first  period  of  Mr.  Ross's  mission  :  "  Another  rising 
town  in  Pennsylvania,  which  the  Society  determined  to  furnish  with  a 
clergyman,  was  New  Castle,  originally  built  by  the  Dutch,  and  contain 
ing  a  population  of  2500.  The  Reverend  George  Ross  was  accordingly 
sent  there  in  1705.  There,  as  elsewhere,  the  proportion  of  churchmen 
was  inconsiderable,  the  Presbyterians  having  a  meeting  in  the  town, 
and  the  Anabaptists  another  in  the  country.  His  congregation  was 
principally  made  up  of  those  who  came  a  considerable  distance  to 
church,  some  above  twelve  miles,  seldom  missing,  zealous  men,  and  of 
substantial  piety.  A  church  was  built  by  the  contributions  of  several 
gentlemen  in  the  place, — a  fair  and  stately  building,  and  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  government.*  After  he  had  been  about  three  years  in  his 
mission,  whether  from  the  unhealthiness  of  the  situation  or  the  little 
encouragement  he  received,  with  both  of  which  he  was  dissatisfied,  Mr. 
Ross-  left  New  Castle  and  went  to  Chester,  from  whence  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Nichols  had  withdrawn.  This  liberty  of  changing  their  stations, 
which  this  and  other  of  the  early  missionaries  assumed,  is  here  men 
tioned  as  furnishing  a  practical  proof  of  the  detriment  which  the  infant 
church  in  the  Colonies  suffered  for  want  of  a  presiding  head.  The  only 
step  which  the  Society  could  take  was  to  suspend  their  stipends.  Mr. 
Ross  went  home  to  vindicate  his  conduct  before  the  Society,  and  after 
a  full  inquiry  into  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  was  restored  to  his 
charge.  On  his  voyage  back  to  America,  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  a 
French  man-of-war  (February  llth,  1711),  and  carried  into  Brest, 
1  where,'  he  says,  '  I,  as  well  as  others,  was  stripped  of  all  my  clothes 
from  the  crown  of  my  head  to  the  sole  of  my  foot ;  in  a  word,  I  was 
left  as  naked  as  when  I  was  born,  and  that  by  means  of  the  greedy 


*  "August  1st,  1703,  Sunday. — I  preached  at  New  Castle  on  Hebrews,  v.  9,  and 
had  a  large  auditory  of  English  and  Dutch.  T/iey  have  had  a  church  lately  built, 
and  the  Reverend  Mr.  Koss,  a  missionary  from  the  honorable  Society,  has  lately 
been  sent  to  them." — Journal  of  George  Keith,  Missionary,  p.  42.  "  In  Pennsylva 
nia,  upon  our  arrival  there  (llth  January,  1703),  there  was  but  one  Church  of 
England  congregation  settled;  now,  blessed  be  God  (June  8th,  1704),  there  are 
five, — viz.,  at  Philadelphia,  Chester,  Frankfort,  New  Castle,  and  Appoquinimy." 
—Ibid.,  pp.  47,  50. 

"  1  preached  at  New  Castle  the  beginning  of  December  last,  where  I  found  a 
considerable  congregation,  considering  the  generality  of  the  people  were  gained 
over  from  other  persuasions.  Their  minister,  the  Reverend  George  Ross,  is 
esteemed  a  person  that  is  ingenious  and  well-learned,  as  well  as  sober  and  prudent, 
and  I  doubt  not  but,  by  the  blessing  of  God  upon  his  good  endeavors,  the  church 
at  New  Castle  will  continue  to  increase." — Memorial  of  the  Reverend  Evan  Evans, 
Missionary  at  Philadelphia,  submitted  by  the  Bishop  of  London  to  the  Society 
for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  (A.D.  1707),  cited  in  Hawkins's  His 
tory  of  the  Church  of  England  Missions  in  North  America,  p.  110. 


56  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

priest  who  was  chaplain  of  the  ship.  He  perceived  that  my  clothes 
were  better  than  his  own,  and  therefore  he  never  ceased  to  importune 
his  captain  till  he  got  leave  to  change,  forsooth,  with  me,  so  that  I  am 
now  clothed  with  rags,  in  testimony  of  my  bondage.'  He  \vas  ulti 
mately  released,  and  returned  to  Chester,  in  which  settlement  he  reports 
there  were,  by  modest  computation,  twenty  Quakers,  besides  other  dis 
senters,  for  one  true  churchman." — Hawkw^x  History  of  the  Church  of 
England  Minions  in  North  America,  pp.  118,  119,  120. 

Mr.  Ross  continued  at  Chester*  until  be  was  transferred  to  New 
Castle,  entering  the  second  time  upon  the  charge  of  the  church  there 
(29th  August,  1714.— Minutes  of  the  Vestry  of  Immanuel  Church, 
New  Castle,  Delaware,  p.  5).  The  following  proceedings  of  the 
Vestry  of  this  Church  appear  on  their  minutes  (page  7)  of  their 
meeting  20th  October,  1714,  the  Vestrymen  present  being  Jasper 
Yeates,  Joseph  Wood,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Land,  John  Ogle,  and 
Kichard  Clark  ;  and  the  Wardens  Richard  Halliwell  and  James  Robi- 
son :  "A  letter  from  the  Honorable  the  Society  for  Propagating  the 
Gospel,  etc.,  directed  to  the  Rev.  George  Ross,  was  laid  before  the 
Vestry,  by  which  letter  it  appeared  the  Society  were  pleased  to  appoint 
the  said  Mr.  Ross  to  serve  the  cure  at  New  Castle  as  their  missionary, 
with  the  salary  of  twenty  pounds  per  annum.  Which  appointment 
being  well  liked  of  by  the  Vestry,  they  unanimously  agreed,  for  the 
further  encouragement  of  the  said  Mr.  Ross,  their  minister,  that  he 
should  be  eased  of  the  burden  of  house-rent  during  his  ministry  among 
them;  and  that,  if  the  subscriptions  for  his  support  should  exceed  the 
sum  of  forty  pounds,  the  overplus  shall  be  supplied  to  the  payment  of 
his  house-rent.  It  was  further  agreed,  that  in  case  the  said  overplus 
should  prove  too  inconsiderable  to  defray  the  said  charge,  then  the  said 
rent  should  be  paid  out  of  the  collections  at  the  sacrament,  and  at  the 
church-door." 

The  history  of  George  Ross,  and  his  mission  is  brought  down  to  a 
later  period  of  it  than  the  foregoing  one  by  the  following  extract  from 
Humphreys's  "History  of  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,"  pp.  151,  156,  166,  167: 

"  New  Castle,  the  capital  of  the  county  of  that  name,  is  finely  seated, 
standing  high  upon  the  Delaware.  This  county  is  the  uppermost  of 
the  three  lower,  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  which  run  120  miles 
along  the  coast,  and  are  about  30  miles  deep  towards  Maryland.  These 
counties  comprehend  all  the  marshes  on  the  great  bay  of  the  Delaware, 
as  commodious  and  fertile  as  any  in  the  world.  The  town  was  first 
built  and  inhabited  by  the  Dutch,  and  called  '  Amstel,'  from  the  river 
which  gives  name  to  Amsterdam,  in  Holland.  It  is  a  large  place,  con 
taining  about  2500  souls.  The  Reverend  George  Ross  was  appointed 
missionary  here  in  1705  by  the  Society.  He  was  received  with  great 
kindness  by  the  inhabitants,  and  had  a  very  regular  congregation.  Not 
only  the  people  of  the  town,  but  a  very  considerable  number  of  the 
country-people,  though  they  lived  a  good  way  off  the  town,  some  above 


*  "Mr.  Ross  came  from  New  Castle  and  officiated  at  Chester,  at  the  people's 
desire,  and  was  very  industrious  and  acceptable  to  them.  However,  the  Society 
did  not  continue  him  there,  though  he  behaved  himself  entirely  to  their  satisfac 
tion." —  Hinnphreys's  History  tf  the  Society  for  Propagating  the  (ro.^e/,  p.  414. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  57 

twelve  miles,  yet  seldom  missed  coming1  to  church  when  there  was  no 
sermon  in  the  country.  The  congregation  has  continued  still  increas 
ing  through  Mr.  Ross's  assiduous  care.  He  extends  his  labors  further 
to  the  churches  at  Appoquinimy  and  White-Clay  Creek.  The  latter, 
indeed,  is  reckoned  as  a  chnpel-of-ease  to  his  own  church  ;  the  other,  a 
distant  cure.  When  Appoquinimy  had  no  missionary,  he  used  to 
preach  on  two  Sundays  at  New  Castle,  once  a  month  at  Appoquinimy, 
and  once  at  White-Clay  Creek.  This,  truly,  was  a  very  painful  service, 
but  he  performed  it  with  a  willing  mind,  and  good  success.  Sometimes, 
however,  he  did  represent  to  the  Society  that  the  people  of  New  Castle 
seemed  to  lay  claim  to  all  his  services,  and  to  take  it  somewhat  amiss 
when  he  was  employed  abroad  on  Sundays;  and  adds,  '1  would  not 
willingly  disoblige  them,  nor  yet  see,  if  I  could  help  it,  the  church  at 
Appoquinimy,  which  is  as  frequent[ed]  as  that  at  New  Castle,  quite 
destitute  and  forsaken.'  Indeed,  the  people  of  New  Castle  have  showed, 
from  the  beginning,  a  due  regard  to  their  worthy  minister,  and  sub 
scribed  voluntarily  to  him  about  forty-eight  pounds  per  annum,  and 
some  other  benefactions  have  been  made  to  the  church ;  particularly 
Mr.  Richard  Halliwell,  a  gentleman  of  piety  and  virtue,  made  a  bequest 
as  follows  :  '  I  give  and  bequeath  unto  Immanuel  Church,  standing  upon 
the  "green,"  in  the  town  of  New  Castle,  the  sum  of  60  pounds,  due  to  me, 
over  and  above  my  subscription,  towards  building  thereof.  Item. — 1 
also  give  and  bequeath  all  my  marsh  and  plantation,  situate  near  the 
Broad  Dyke  of  the  town  of  Burlington,  containing  and  laid  out  for  67 
acres  of  land  and  marsh,  together  with  all  the  houses,  and  orchards,  and 
other  improvements,  to  the  proper  use  and  behoof  of  the  minister  that 
shall  from  time  to  time  serve  the  said  Immanuel  Church  forever.'  Mr. 
Ross  has  continued  in  this  mission  until  the  present  time,  irreprovable 
in  his  conduct,  and  very  diligent  in  his  labors,  which  he  has  not  only 
employed  in  his  own  parish,  but  in  several  other  places  occasionally, 
and  very  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people  where  he  officiated. 

"In  August,  1717,  Colonel  William  Keith,  the  Governor,  resolving 
to  visit  the  lower  counties,  the  Reverend  Mr.  Ross,  missionary  at  New 
Castle,  was  invited  to  accompany  him.  Mr.  Koss  very  readily  em 
braced  this  kind  invitation,  hoping  by  this  opportunity  to  make  himself 
acquainted  with  the  state  of  the  church  there,  and  in  some  measure 
supply  her  present  wants  by  his  ministry.  He  embarked  with  the 
Governor,  and  several  other  gentlemen,  at  New  Castle,  and  set  sail  for 
Lewistown,  in  Sussex  County,  which  lies  upon  one  of  the  capes  of  the 
river  Delaware,  and  in  two  days  arrived  there.  On  the  7th  of  August 
he  preached  before  the  Governor  and  Justices  of  the  county,  in  the 
court-house  of  the  county,  and  had  a  very  numerous  audience  of  the 
people,  who  appeared  very  serious,  and  desirous  of  the  sacraments  of 
the  church ;  and  he  baptized  that  day  thirty  children  that  were  brought 
to  him.  On  the  9th  of  the  same  month  Mr.  Ross  preached  again  before 
the  Governor  and  other  gentlemen,  had  a  large  audience  of  the  people, 
and  baptized  twenty-one  children.  On  the  10th  the  Governor  left  this 
place  in  order  to  go  to  Kent  County.  Mr.  Ross  set  out  before  him  to  a 
place  of  worship  about  sixteen  miles  from  Lewis.  It  is  a  small  build- 
mg  erected  by  a  few  well-disposed  persons,  in  order  to  meet  together 
there  to  worship  God.  Mr.  Ross  preached  once  here,  and  baptized 
twenty-five  children  and  several  grown  persons.  On  the  Sunday  follow- 

5 


58  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

ing  he  preached  to  a  very  large  congregation  in  the  upper  parts  of  this 
county,  where  the  people  had  erected  a  fabric  for  the  church,  which 
was  not  quite  finished.  Here  he  baptized  twenty-six  children,  so  that 
the  whole  number  of  the  baptized,  in  one  week's  stay  among  this  people, 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  two. 

"Mr.  Ross  observes  thus  to  the  Society:  'By  this  behavior  of  the 
people,  it  appears  plainly  they  are  truly  zealous  for  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  though  they  have  had  but  few  instructions  from  some  clergymen 
passing  through  these  parts,  and  some  visits  from  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Adams  of  Maryland.'  As  the  Governor  returned  home  through  Kent 
County,  Mr.  Ross  attended  him,  and  preached  before  him  and  the 
magistrates  on  the  14th  of  August.  He  had  a  very  full  congregation, 
and  baptized  thirteen  children  and  one  grown  person.  In  April  follow 
ing  (1718)  Mr.  Ross  resolved  to  make  a  second  visit,  by  himself,  to  the 
people  of  Sussex  County.  He  was  so  much  pleased  with  his  former  suc 
cess  among  them,  that  he  was  desirous  to  improve  further  the  good  dis 
position  of  the  people.  He  went  to  Sussex  County,  continued  there  six 
days,  preached  on  every  one  of  them,  at  different  places,  and  baptized 
one  hundred,  seven  of  whom  were  of  an  advanced  age.  Lastly,  he 
opened  there  a  new  church,  which  the  poor  people  had  built,  notwith 
standing  so  great  a  discouragement  as  their  having  no  minister. 

"Mr.  Ross  sent  this  account  of  his  labors  in  these  two  counties  to 
the  Society  in  the  form  of  a  journal,  and  the  missionaries  of  this  colony 
made  a  full  representation  of  the  state  of  the  church  in  those  parts. 
The  Governor  was  further  pleased  to  write  a  letter  to  the  Society,  and 
to  transmit  several  applications  made  to  him  by  the  clergy,  relating  to 
the  church  affairs,  and  a  copy  of  the  above-named  journal  of  Mr.  Ross. 
His  letter  runs  thus:  'According  to  my  duty,  I  presume  to  lay  before 
you  the  application  of  your  missionaries,  the  clergy  of  this  Province 
and  neighborhood,  relating  to  the  church  here,  and  also  a  copy  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  George  Ross's  journal  of  his  services  done  in  the  coun 
ties  of  Kent  and  Sussex.  It  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  me  that  I  can 
assure  this  venerable  board  of  the  great  pains  and  diligent  care  which 
the  reverend  gentlemen,  within  named,  take  in  all  the  parts  of  their  min 
isterial  function  ;  and  herein  I  cannot  but  in  justice  particularly  recom 
mend  Mr.  Ross's  capacity,  pious  and  exemplary  life,  and  great  industry 
to  your  favorable  notice  and  regard.  But  I  must  observe  that  the  duty 
here  increases  daily  at  such  a  rate,  and  the  laborers  are  so  few,  that 
without  your  pious  and  immediate  care  to  relieve  and  supply  this  lan 
guishing  but  valuable  branch  of  the  church,  all  our  endeavors  will  be 
to  no  purpose.' ' 

The  following  rough  draft  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Ross  to  the  Reverend 
Mr.  Bearcroft,  preserved  among  Mr.  Road's  papers,  carries  the  reader 
forward  to  an  advanced  period  of  Mr.  Ross's  life  and  mission. 

The  North  American  colonies  had  just  been  stirred,  by  the  wonderful 
eloquence  of  Whitefield,  to  an  unwonted  and  earnest  attention  to  reli 
gion,  with  the  great  admixture  of  fanaticism  and  extravagance,  that 
have  been  too  often  the  concomitants  of  such  revivals.  Effects — the 
results  of  mere  human  instrumentalities — of  questionable  character  as 
to  their  propriety,  were,  with  strange  ill  judgment  and  shocking  impiety," 
ascribed  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  that  without  waiting  to  have  them 
tested  by  time.  This  marvellous  excitement,  which  had  passed  from 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  59 

man  to  man  with  something  of  the  rapidity  with  which  fire  spreads  in 
the  dry  grass  of  our  vast  prairies,  reached  Mr.  Ross's  parish,  where 
this  man  of  God  had  been  so  long  doing  his  Master's  work,  by  his 
Master's  appointed  means,  diligently,  unremittingly,  and  soberly ;  and 
his  picture  of  its  evils,  though  dark,  is  not  overcolored. 

"  NEW  CASTLE,  August  5th,  1740. 

"REVEREND  SIR, — Your  agreeable  letter,  of  the  llth  of  March  last, 
came  safe  to  my  hands,  and  very  opportunely,  too,  when  our  northern 
levies  began  to  be  carried  on  for  prosecuting  the  intended  expedition 
against  the  Spanish  West  Indies.  I  say  opportunely,  because  your  let 
ter  proved  the  happy  means  of  preventing  my  son  [JGneas]  from  en 
gaging  in  this  hazardous  attempt.  His  patience  was  quite  spent,  and 
he  was  resolved  to  push  his  fortune  by  the  sword,  since  he  saw  no 
probability  of  coming  at  the  gown  by  his  frequent  application.  He  is 
now  making  ready  for  his  voyage,  and  would  have  crossed  the  seas  in 
the  ship  by  which  I  send  you  this,  had  we  [received]  timely  notice  of 
her  altering  her  first-appointed  course.  In  the  mean  time,  if  a  vacancy 
happens,  you  will  remember  him,  I  hope,  that  his  stay  in  London  may 
not  be  long,  or  prove  too  heavy  for  me. 

"  The  church  here  enjoys  a  profound  calm  after  being  threatened  with 
a  mere  tempest  of  enthusiasm.  We  felt  this  storm  in  this  village*  in 
its  decline.  When  its  fury  was  almost  spent,  I  was  never  so  much 
astonished  as  when  I  saw  the  fluctuating  humors  of  our  people;  the 
sea  indeed  roared,  and  the  waves  were  so  exceeding  high  that  to  face 
them  was  present  shipwreck.  I  stood  amazed,  and  dreaded  the  conse 
quences  of  so  unexpected  a  shock.  But  he  that  thus  stirred  up  the 
people,  and  inflamed  them  against  the  missionaries  with  the  most 
opprobrious  language, — I  mean  the  mischievous  Mr.  Whitefield, — lost 
himself,  and  ruined  his  credit  with  thinking  people  by  his  malicious 
letter  against  Archbishop  Tillotson,  and  by  his  weak  but  ill-natured 
attack  upon  the  author  of  the  'Whole  Duty  of  Man.'  The  storm  is  not 
quite  allayed  at  Philadelphia,  where  I  bore  my  testimony  in  a  sermon 
preached  against  the  proceedings  of  this  indefatigable  impostor  in  gown 
and  cassock.  When  he  could  or  would  not  stay  longer  in  these  quar 
ters,  he  deputed  two  or  three  fiery  Presbyterians  to  pursue  his  game, 
whose  assiduity  terminated  at  last  in  distraction  in  some,  in  chains  in 
others;  despair  in  some,  in  extremo  articulo  and  laying  violent  hands 
on  themselves  in  others.  These  were  some  of  the  sad  effects  of  what 
the  party  call  convictions, — but  in  truth  diabolical  possessions.  The 
main  incendiary,  'tis  expected,  will  return  into  these  parts  ere  long,  but 
his  principles,  pride,  and  spite  are  so  fully  discovered,  and  particularly 

*  "On  Thursday  last  the  Keverend  Mr.  Whitefield  left  this  city,  and  was 
accompanied  to  Chester  by  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  horse[men],  and  preached 
there  to  about  seven  thousand  people.  On  Friday  he  preached  twice  at  Willing's 
Town  [Wilmington]  to  about  five  thousand,  and  on  Saturday,  at  New  Castle,  to 
about  two  thousand  Jive  hundred,  and  the  same  evening,  at  Christiana  Bridge,  to 
about  three  thousand ;  on  Sunday,  at  White-Clay  Creek,  he  preached  twice,  rest 
ing  about  half  an  hour  between  the  sermons,  to  about  eight  thousand,  of  whom 
three  thousand,  it  is  computed,  came  on  horseback.  It  rained  most  of  the  time, 
and  yet  they  stood  in  the  open  air." — Franklin's  Pennsylvania  Gazette,  published 
in  Philadelphia,  1739. 


60  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

his  amassing:  such  vast  sums,  and  therewith  supporting-  a  company  of 
young-  fellows  and  gadding  young  women,  who  followed  him  to  Georgia, 
instead  of  applying  the  charities  for  his  little  Orphan-House  to  their 
proper  end,  has  given  so  general  offence  that  I  am  persuaded  his  con 
duct  in  this  point  will  sink  his  credit  as  fast  as  his  plausible  talent  for 
haranguing  the  populace  has  raised  him  in  the  opinion  of  the  giddy 
multitude.  Some  in  my  congregation  became  unsettled,  among  others, 
in  running  and  flocking  after  our  new  preacher,  and  when  the  sacrament 
was  celebrated  here,  in  those  hurrying  days,  I  had  not  above  half  of  my 
usual  number  of  communicants;  but,  thanks  be  to  God,  the  snare  in 
which  they  were  catched  is  broken,  and  they  are  delivered,  and  now  we 
live  in  peace  and  love.  My  'notitia,'  etc.  you  shall  have  by  my  son, 
who  hopes  to  sail  for  England  some  time  in  September  next,  or  perhaps 
sooner. 

"  I  am,  reverend  sir,  your  truly  obliged  and  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE    ROSS." 

The  last  memorial  of  Mr.  Ross,  among  Mr.  Read's  papers,  is  the 
letter,  which  follows,  to  the  first  husband  of  his  daughter  Gertrude, 
whose  second  husband  was  Mr.  Read.  \Vhen  this  letter  was  written, 
Mr.  Ross's  long  and  useful  life  was  drawing  to  its  close,  and  he  was 
about  to  realize  (we  may  hope,  from  his  faithful  discharge  of  his  duties 
as  a  minister  of  the  Gospel)  the  glorious  promise  that  they  who  turn 
many  to  righteousness  shall  shine  as  the  stars  forever. 


CASTLE,  October  29th,  1752. 

"  DEAR  SON,  —  When  I  received  your  affectionate  letter,  and  that  of 
your  dear  spouse,  I  was  in  a  very  low  state  of  health  ;  but  the  ease  and 
comfort  I  had  in  the  many  very  kind  expressions  in  both  your  letters, 
are  only  to  be  felt.  Please,  therefore,  to  accept  my  most  hearty  thanks 
for  so  seasonable  a  relief  in  my  most  dangerous  illness.  In  point  of 
affection  you  cannot  exceed 

"  Your  most  loving  and  obliged 

"  GEORGE  Ross. 

"I  am  just  recovered  from  a  quartan  ague,  which,  had  it  continued 
much  longer,  I  believe  would  have  carried  me  off;  but,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  and  the  endeavors  of  your  brother  Jacob,  I  am  recovering. 

"Mr.  I.  TILL,  Prime  Hook,  Sussex  County,  Delaware." 

George  Ross  died  in  1754,  in  the  seventy-fifth  year  of  his  age.  No 
stone  marks  his  grave.  He  was  twice  married,  and  had  thirteen  chil 
dren.  Among  the  children  by  his  second  wife,  Catherine  Tan  Gczel, 
were  George,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence;  Gertrude, 
wife  of  George  Read  ;  and  Catherine,  who  married  General  William 
Thompson. 

The  tomb  of  his  first  wife,  Joanna  Williams,  of  Rhode  Island,  near 
the  eastern  gable  of  Immanuel  Church,  bears  this  inscription,  no  doubt 
written  by  Mr.  Ross  : 

"  Memor  virtutum  Johannae,  conjugis,  honesto  genere  natae,  hoc 
sepulchri  monumentum  Maritus,  Georgius  Ross,  Evangelii  Praeco,  ex- 
truendum  curavit.  Anno  acquievit  ilia  astatis  trigesimo  septimo,  29th 
September,  1726. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  61 

"  Dixit  ei  Jesus  '  quisquis  vivit  et  credit  in  me  non  morietur  in  eter- 
num.' 

"Calcanda  semel  via  lethi." 

A  few  feet  from  this  tomb  is  the  monument  of  the  Reverend  Walter 
Hackett,  the  first  husband  of  Margaret,  daughter  of  George  Ross, 
whose  second  husband  was  the  Reverend  Mr.  Curry,  of  Philadelphia. 
This  monument  is  thus  inscribed : 

"Sub  hoc  cippo  conduntur  reliquioe  Reverendi  Viri  Gualteri  Hackett, 
qui  titulo  Missionary  insignitus,  pastoritium  munus,  aptid  Appoquini- 
mensis,  circiter  quinquenium  feliciter  exercuit. 

"  Natus  Fraserburgium,  Bamff,  Scotia3  Provinciae,  ex  vetusta  ac  gene- 
rosa  familia  Hackett  ortus. 

"  Fuit  vita  incorrupta,  ingenio  leni  pectore,  fido  in  officio,  fungendo 
summa  industria. 

"  Multis  ille  flebilis  bonis  occidit,*  nulli  flcbilior  quam  charaB  conjugi, 
qui  in  memoriam  diirni  viri  hoc  monumentum  sepulchri  condere  libuit. 

"  Obiit  nonis  Martijs  Anno  MDCCXXXIIL,  Stalls  XXXIII." 

I  am  indebted  to  the  Reverend  John  B.  Spottswood,  D.D.,  a  descend 
ant  of  the  celebrated  Governor  Spottswood,  of  Virginia,  for  the  follow 
ing  translation  of  this  epitaph  : 

"Under  this  stone  are  buried  the  remains  of  the  Reverend  Walter 
Hackett,  who,  while  a  Missionary,  discharged,  with  great  success,  the 
duties  of  the  Pastoral  Office,  at  Appoquinimy,  about  five  years.  He 
was  born  in  Frasersburg,  in  Bamff,  a  province  of  Scotland,  and  was 
descended  from  the  ancient  and  respectable  family  of  Hackett  His  life 
was  blameless :  in  spirit  meek:  in  office  faithful:  in  labors  abundant. 
He  died,  lamented  by  many  good,  but  by  none  more  than  his  beloved 
wife,  who  is  pleased  to  erect  to  the  memory  of  her  worthy  husband  this 
sepulchral  monument.  He  died  March  7th,  1733,  aged  33  years." 

There  are  extant  the  following  pictures  of  the  Ross  family: 

No,  1, 

A  picture  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross,  painted  in  wig,  gown,  and 
band,  seated,  with  an  open  volume  before  him,  doubtless  the  blessed 
Gospel,  of  which  he  was  so  able  and  faithful  a  minister;  his  face  oval, 
eyes  hazel,  complexion  florid,  features  regular,  and  sufficiently  strong  to 
indicate  the  intelligence  and  energy,  which  were  certainly  his,  without 
the  harshness,  not  to  say  homeliness,  of  the  Scottish  physiognomy. 
The  gravity  expressed  by  the  countenance  seems  to  me  to  have  been 
from  a  sense  of  the  sacredness  and  dignity  of  his  profession,  superin 
duced  over  a  natural  hilarity  of  temper  and  humorousness  which  lurk 
under  it,  and  over  which  it  with  difficulty  holds  the  mastery.  It  does 
not  appear  by  this  picture  when  and  by  whom  it  was  executed,  but,  as 
it  represents  Mr.  Ross  of  about  middle  age,  it  must  be,  I  suppose,  at 
least  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  old.  It  is  in  good  preservation  and 
well  painted. 


"  Multis  ille  bonis  flebilis,  occidit, 

Nulli  flebilior,  quam  tibi,  Virgili." — Quinfi  Horaiii  Flacci  Optrn, 
Ode  24,  ad  VirgiUum,  de  Morte  fyuinctilit  Vari. 


62  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Nos,  2,  3,  and  4, 

Nos.  2  and  3,  portraits  of  John  Ross*  and  his  wife  Elizabeth  ;f  No. 
4,  another  picture  of  John  Ross, — all  well  painted  and  in  good  order. 

Nos,  5  and  6, 

Portraits  of  Catherine  and  Margaretta,  daughters  of  John  Ross, 
painted  by  Alexander,  a  Scotch  artist,  who  visited  the  North  American 
colonies  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  and  was  the  first  master 
of  Gilbert  Stewart.  Catherine,!  in  the  rich,  full  dress  of  her  day, 
thinking  perchance  of  her  bird,  her  lover,  or  her  flowers,  unconsciouslv 
touches  the  keys  of  the  harpsichord  by  which  she  is  standing;  and 
Margaretta,  a  comely  girl,  with  hair  dark  as  the  raven's  plume,  and 
eyes  of  deepest  blue,  points  to  an  urn,  with  this  inscription:  "  Marga- 
ritta  Ross,  obiit  20th  August,  17G6,  M.  19. — 'Si  queris  animan  meam, 
respice  ccelum,  si  formau  en  est.'" 

Nos,  7  and  8, 

Portraits  of  Joanna,  first  wife  of  George  Ross,  and  her  brother  Jaco 
bus  Williams, — pronounced  by  judges  of  pictures  to  be  fine  ones,  and 
in  the  style  of  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller.  As  he  had  a  pupil  Hesselius,§ 
who  resided  near  Annapolis,  Maryland,  he  may  have  executed  these 
portraits.  The  bearing  of  Joanna  is  queenly,  her  drapery  very  taste 
fully  disposed,  and  the  sad  expression  of  her  large,  dark  eyes  betokens, 
perhaps,  presentiment  of  her  early  death. 

Nos,  9  and  10. 

Pictures  of  children.  No.  9,  a  portrait  of  Margaret  Ross,  wife  of 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Hackett ;  and  No.  10,  of  John,  son  of  Mr.  Ross's 
eldest  son  David,  who  died  while  a  missionary  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  at  Albany,  New  York,  evidently  both  executed  by  the  painter  of 
Nos.  7  and  8. 

No,  11, 

Portrait  of  Catherine,  daughter  of  George  Ross,  and  wife  of  General 
William  Thompson,  which  was  sent  to  my  mother  from  Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania,  upon  the  death  of  Mrs.  Thompson  there,  in  1808,  is  that 
of  a  very  young  and  handsome  girl,  of  oval  countenance,  and  delicate 
and  regular  features,  with  black  eyes  and  hair,  her  dress  very  much  in 
the  style  of  the  present  time.  She  holds  in  one  hand  a  peach,  and  in 
the  other  a  flower,  and  her  attitude  is  stiff  and  ungraceful.  In  the  back 
ground  of  this  picture  is  the  faint  outline  of  a  Grecian  temple,  and  its 
coloring,  still  unfaded,  must  have  been  originally  very  good.  The  tradi 
tion  in  my  family  has  been  that  this  picture  was  painted  by  Benjamin 
West  before  he  went  to  England,  At  the  house  of  her  uncle,  George 
Ross,  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  where  she,  being  not  more  than  sixteen 
years  of  age,  was  on  a  visit,  and  West  was  engaged  in  taking  the  por- 

*  Obiit  5th  May,  1776,  aged  sixty-one, 
f  Obiit  7th  October,  1776,  aged  sixty-two  years. 

j  Wife  of  Captain  Gurney  of  the  British  army,  died  27th  August,  1782,  aged 
thirty -two  years. 

\  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  article  "  C.  W.  Peale,"  vol.  ix.  p.  591. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  63 

traits  of  his  family.  This  tradition  is  confirmed  by  the  following  extract 
from  "  The  Life  and  Studies  of  Benjamin  West  prior  to  his  Arrival  in 
England,"  compiled  by  John  Gait,  from  materials  furnished  bv  himself, 
pp.  47,  48: 

"  Among  the  acquaintances  of  Mr.  Flower  (the  early  friend  of  West) 
was  a  Mr.  Ross,  a  lawyer  in  the  town  of  Lancaster,  a  place  at  that 
time  remarkable  for  its  wealth,  and  which  had  the  reputation  of  possess 
ing  the  best  and  most  intelligent  society  to  be  then  found  in  America, — 
capable  of  appreciating  the  merit  of  essays  in  art.  The  wife  of  Mr. 
Ross  was  greatly  celebrated  for  her  beauty,  and  she  had  several  children 
so  remarkable  in  this  respect  as  to  be  objects  of  general  notice.  One 
day,  when  Mr.  Flower  was  dining  with  them,  he  advised  his  friend  Mr. 
Ross  to  have  their  portraits  taken,  and  mentioned  that  they  would  be 
excellent  subjects  for  young  West.  Application  was,  in  consequence, 
made  to  old  Mr.  West,  and  permission  obtained  for  the  little  artist  to  go 
to  Lancaster  for  the  purpose  of  taking  the  likenesses  of  Mrs.  Ross  and 
her  family.  Such  was  the  success  with  which  he  executed  this  task 
that  the  sphere  of  his  celebrity  was  greatly  enlarged,  and  so  numerous 
were  the  applications  for  portraits  that  he  found  it  difficult  to  satisfy  the 
demands  of  his  admirers." 

As  West  embarked  for  Italy  in  1700,  and  never  returned  to  the  United 
States,  this  picture  was  painted  before  that  year. 

No,  12, 

A  picture,  it  is  supposed,  of  the  Reverend  -^Eneas  Ross,  in  possession 
of  William  T.  Read.* 

No,  13, 

A  picture,  it  is  supposed,  of  George  Ross,  the  signer  of  the  Declara 
tion  of  Independence,  but  certainly  of  one  of  the  sons  of  the  Reverend 
George  Ross. 

After  George  Ross  withdrew  from  New  Castle  to  Chester,  the 
Reverend  Robert  St.  Clare  was  appointed  missionary  to  New  Castle, 
and  on  the  26th  day  of  July,  1710,  presented  his  credentials  to  the 
members  of  Immanuel  Church,  and  was  received  by  them  "  with  all 
due  respect  and  satisfaction." — Minutes  of  the  Vestry  of  Immanuel 
Church,  p.  1. 

The  first  Minute  of  the  Yestry  of  Immanuel  Church  is  dated  7th 
August,  1710. — Ibid.  A  letter  was  addressed  by  this  body  to  the 
Bishop  of  London,  November  6tb,  1710,  as  follows: 

"  RIGHT  REVEREND  FATHER  IN  GOD, — We,  the  Yestry  and  Church- 
Wardens  of  Immanuel  Church,  in  the  town  of  New  Castle,  Delaware, 
being  truly  sensible  of  your  Lordship's  fatherly  care  in  various  consid 
erable  instances  and  on  all  opportunities  manifested  towards  us,  now 
humbly  entreat  your  Lordship's  favorable  acceptance  of  our  repeated 
thanks,  and  crave  leave  to  express  our  dependence  upon  your  Lordship's 
favor  for  our  church's  further  growth  and  support,  and  would  particu- 


*  Of  these  pictures,  Nos.  1,  4,  5,  7,  8,  9,  10,  11,  12,  and  13  are  in  possession  of 
W.  T.  Read,  and  the  others  of  J.  M.  Bead,  Esq.,  Philadelphia. 


64  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

larly,  at  this  juncture,  submissively  implore  your  Lordship's  patience 
with  us  while  we  lay  before  you  those  difficulties  and  disadvantages  \v<- 
some  time  have,  and  still  do  labor  under,  by  reason  of  the  late  and 
present  disregard  of  our  now  Lieutenant-Governor,  which  has  been,  and 
now  is,  to  the  encouragement,  if  not  support,  of  the  dissenting  Presby 
terian  interest,  whose  conventicle  he  so  far  countenanceth  as  to  build  a 
pew  therein,  to  which  he  hath  resorted ;  and  they,  under  his  Honor's 
umbrage,  use  the  common  bell  of  our  town  according  to  their  own  con 
venience,  and  many  times  interfering  with  those  stated  times  appointed 
by  our  minister,  the  Rev.  Mr.  St.  Clare,  for  our  public  assembling  to 
divine  worship.*  Moreover,  not  to  insist  upon  his  Honor's  refusal  to 
subscribe  anything  for  the  encouragement  of  our  minister,  though  hum 
bly  requested  thereto  by  some  of  us,  his  Honor  has  been  very  lately 
pleased  to  disown  our  Yestry,  and  discouraged  their  sitting,  to  concert 
what  might  be  for  the  advantage  of  our  church,  merely  because  such 
persons  as  his  Honor  was  pleased  to  nominate  for  vestrymen  were  not 
chosen,  so  that  our  proposed  measures  are  not  likely  to  have  that  good 
effect  that  might  be  expected.  Yet  furthermore  we  humbly  lay  before 
your  Lordship  our  deplorable  want  of  encouragement  for  the  education 
of  our  children  in  this  town,  where  there  are  sundry  inhabitants  and 
children,  but  what  by  reason  of  our  lamentable  divisions,  and  the 
poverty  of  many,  no  one  master,  who  is  capable  of  being  truly  service 
able  in  good  literature,  will  come  or  stay  among  us;  whereas,  were 
there  the  additional  advantage  of  a  stated  stipend  from  England,  we 
should  be  forthwith  provided ;  wherefore,  we  earnestly  solicit  your 
Lordship's  influence  upon  the  Honorable  Society  for  a  certain  annual 
salary  to  such  a  person  as  we  shall  find  proper  for  that  service.  Thus, 
may  it  please  your  Lordship,  having  laid  before  you  our  too  unhappy 
difficulties,  in  hopes  of  having  them  in  due  time,  by  your  Lordship's 
means,  removed,  and  to  receive  from  your  Lordship  such  further  injunc 
tions  and  spiritual  advice  as  your  Lordship,  in  your  fatherly  wisdom 
and  consideration  for  us,  may  think  further  meet  and  necessary  for  us, 
and  most  heartily  wishing,  and  earnestly  praying,  for  your  Lordship's 
health  and  happiness,  we  humbly  subscribe  ourselves  to  be,  as  in  duty 
bound,  your  Lordship's  most  obedient,  very  humble  servants, 

"ROBERT  ST.  CLARE,  Minister.        SAMUEL  LOWMAN, 
RICHARD  HALLIWELL,  JAMES  ROBINTSON, 

JOSEPH  WOOD,  THOMAS  OGLE, 

RICHARD  CLARKE,  JOHN  CANN."! 

*  u  "Which  bell  formerly  belonged  to  the  Dutch  while  they  had  the  control,  but 
upon  the  surrender  of  their  authority,  was  transferred  to  the  English,  and  ordered 
to  be  used  by  our  church  by  the  Hon.  Mr  Evans,  our  late  Governor,  which  we 
humbly  beg  rnay  be  continued  to  us,  the  right  of  it  being,  we  humbly  suppose, 
in  her  Majesty.1' 

f  This  Lieutenant-Governor,  against  whom  were  made  such  grave  complaints, 
was  Colonel  Gookin,  of.  whom  I  find  this  notice  in  "Watson's  Annals  of  Phila 
delphia,"  j).  355:  "  Colonel  Gookin  disappointed  Penn  and  his  friends,  on  account 
of  his  conduct  during  a  considerable  part  of  his  administration.  He  was  much 
under  the  influence  of  his  brother-in-law,  Birmingham.  At  one  time  he  removed 
all  the  justices  in  New  Castle  County  for  doing  their  duty  in  an  action  against 
the  said  Birmingham,  thus  leaving  the  county  without  a  single  magistrate  for 
six  weeks.  At  another  time,  when  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  at  New 
Castle  would  not  admit  a  certain  commission  of  his  to  be  published  in  court,  he 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  65 

It  does  not  appear  from  the  minutes  of  the  Vestry  of  Immanuel 
Church  whether  or  not  Mr.  St.  Clare  continued  in  charge  of  their 
church  during  the  whole  time  of  Mr.  Ross's  absence  from  it,  as  there  is 
no  record  of  their  proceedings  from  March,  1711,  to  the  2(>th  of  Octo 
ber,  171 4. 

As  the  foregoing  letter,  shows  the  disadvantages  under  which  Mr. 
Ross's  parish  was  suffering  a  short  time  before  he  returned  to  it,  and 
which,  upon  resuming  his  charge  in  New  Castle,  he  probably  still  found 
besetting  it,  its  insertion  may  not,  perhaps,  be  considered  irrelevant. 

"On. the  28th  of  July,  175f>,  the  Reverend  Clement  Brooks  presented 
to  the  Vestry  of  Immanuel  Church,  New  Castle,  Delaware,  his  creden 
tials  as  successor  therein  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross,  and  resigned 
2tith  October,  1756." — Minutes  of  the  Vestry  of  Immanuel  Church, 
pp.  44,  45. 

His  successor  was  the  Reverend  Mr.  Cleveland,  who,  on  his  journey 
to  Norwich,  Connecticut,  for  his  family,  to  enter  with  them  upon  his 
mission,  died  at  the  house  of  his  friend,  Dr.  Franklin,  in  Philadelphia, 
August  llth,  1757.*  The  Reverend  ^Eneas  Ross  was  appointed  to 
supply  his  place,  and  his  appointment  announced  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Society  for  Propagating  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts  to  the  Vestry 
and  AVardens  of  Immanuel  Church  by  a  letter,  dated  3d  May,  1758, 
stating  that  "as  his  father  was  long  their  worthy  missionary  they  ima 
gine  he  will,  upon  that  account,  be  acceptable,  and  hope  he  will  prove  a 
worthy  successor  to  his  father." — Minutes  of  the  Vestry,  p.  46. 

The  Reverend  ^Eneas  Ross  filled  this  mission  until  his  decease,  in 
the  year  1782. 

"The  long,  low  promontory  of  Tarbat-Ness  forms  the  northeastern 
extremity  of  Ross-shire.  Etymologists  derive  its  name  from  the  prac 
tice  which  prevailed  among  mariners,  in  the  infancy  of  navigation,  of 
drawing  their  light  shallops  across  the  necks  of  such  promontories  in 
stead  of  sailing  around  them.  On  a  moor  of  this  headland  may  be 
traced  the  vestiges  of  an  encampment  which  some  have  deemed  Roman, 
and  there  is  a  cave  among  the  low  rocks  by  which  it  is  skirted,  which, 
according  to  tradition,  communicates  with  another  cave  on  the  coast  of 
Caithness.  The  scenery  of  Tarbat-Ness  is  sublime,  A  wide  expanse 
of  ocean  here  encircles  a  narrow  headland, — brown,  sterile,  solitary, 
edged  with  rocks,  and  studded  with  fragments  of  stone.  On  the  one 
hand  the  mountains  of  Sutherland  are  seen  rising  out  of  the  sea  like  a 
volume  of  blue  clouds;  and  on  the  other,  at  a  still  greater  distance,  the 
hills  of  Moray  stretch  along  the  horizon  in  a  long  undulating  strip,  so 
faintly  defined  in  the  outline  that  they  seem  almost  to.  mingle  with  the 
firmament.  Instead,  however,  of  contracting  the  prospect,  they  serve 
to  enhance,  by  their  diminished  bulk,  the  immense  space  in  which  they 
are  included — space,  wide,  interminable  space !  in  which  he  who  con 


sent  for  one  of  the  judges  and  kicked  him.  In  truth,  his  best  apology  seems  to 
have  been  that  he  was  partially  deranged.  In  fact,  he  afterwards,  in  1717,  made 
his  apology  to  the  Council  for  several  acts  by  saying,  '  his  physicians  knew  he  had 
a  weakness  in  his  head,'  wherefore  J.  Logan  remarked  to  Hannah  Penn,  'Be 
pleased  to  consider  how  fit  he  was  for  the  commission  he  so  long  wore.'  " 
*  Annals  of  the  American  Episcopal  Pulpit,  p.  165. 


66  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

templates  it  finds  himself  lost,  and  is  oppressed  by  a  sense  of  his  own 
littleness, — is  at  all  times  the  circumstance  to  which  the  prospect  owes 
most  of  its  power.  But  it  is  only  during  the  storms  of  winter,  when 
the  firmament,  in  all  its  vastness,  seems  converted  into  a  hall  of  the 
tempest,  and  the  earth,  in  all  its  extent,  into  a  gymnasium  for  contend 
ing  elements,  that  the  ocean  assumes  its  full  sublimity  and  grandeur. 
On  the  north,  a  chain  of  alternate  currents  and  whirlpools  howl,  toss, 
and  rage,  as  if  wrestling  with  the  hurricane.  On  the  east,  the  huge 
waves  of  the  German  Ocean  come  rolling  against  the  rocky  barrier,  en 
circling  it  with  a  broad  line  of  foam,  and  join  their  voices  of  thunder  to 
the  roar  of  current  and  whirlpool.  Cloud  after  cloud  sweeps  along  the 
brown  promontory,  flinging  on  it  their  burdens  as  they  pass:  the  sea 
gull  shrieks  over  it  as  he  beats  his  wings  against  the  gale :  the  distant 
hills  seem  blotted  from  the  landscape:  occasionally  a  solitary  bark,  with 
its  dark  sails  furled  to  the  yards,  and  its  topmasts  lowered  to  the  deck, 
comes  drifting  over  the  foam;  and  the  mariner,  anxious,  afraid,  and 
lashed  to  the  helm,  looks  anxiously  over  the  waves  for  the  headlands 
of  the  distant  haven." — Scenes  and  Legends  in  the  North  of  Scotland, 
by  Hugh  Miller,  pp.  260,  2G1. 

At  the  time  of  the  Reformation,  or  near  it,  the  largest  salary  in  Scot 
land  for  the  principal  of  a  college  was  thirty-five  pounds  sterling,  with 
board  and  lodging.  The  highest  bursary  was  about  four  pounds  ster 
ling.  In  1583  chambers  were  let  in  Edinburgh  College  at  forty  shillings, 
and  two  to  be  in  one  bed.  Rollock,  principal  of  this  seminary,  was 
allowed  forty  pounds  sterling  for  salary,  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
pounds  (Scotch)  for  board.  The  stipends  of  city  ministers  were  about 
seventy  pounds  sterling.  The  fees  of  Rollock  from  students  were  two 
pounds  (Scotch)  from  the  sons  of  burgesses,  and  three  from  others, 
but  the  fee  was  raised  as  the  pound  (Scotch)  depreciated.  Twenty 
pounds  was  thought,  in  15ti5,  a  large  benevolence  from  a  rich  citizen  of 
Edinburgh  to  Queen  Mary.  The  account-book  of  Archbishop  Sharp 
(1603  to  IfiGG)  affords  information  in  regard  to  college  expenses  in  Scot 
land.  His  son  William,  then  a  student  at  St.  Andrew's,  paid  for  a 
pocket-inkborn  five  pence;  for  candles,  four  shillings  and  ten  pence ;  for  a 
pair  of  arrows,  ten  pence ;  to  his  regent  or  tutor,  five  pounds,  nineteen 
shillings,  and  two 'pence;  for  a  Yirgil,  one  shilling  and  four  pence;  for 
Ovid's  Works,  six  shillings;  for  a  Hebrew  Grammar  and  Psalm-Book, 
two  shillings  and  four  pence;  and  for  "Buchanan's  Nomenclature,"  six 
pence.  These  sums  are  given  in  sterling  money.  Scotland,  anterior  to 
the  union,  having  progressed  little  in  improvement  and  wealth,  and  her 
circulating  medium  not  much  increased,  the  Scotch  pound  had  probably 
not  depreciated,  nor  charges  for  board  and  tuition  of  students  and  sala 
ries  of  teachers  increased,  when  George  Ross,  at  the  close  of  the 
seventeenth  century,  was  a  student  at  Edinburgh,  and  a  tutor  in  Lord 
May's  family,  so  that  his  salary  in  that  capacity,  often  pounds  sterling, 
was  not  the  paltry  sum  it  might,  without  the  foregoing  information,  be 
thought,  but  the  usual  salary  of  a  tutor.* 

*  Autobiography  of  Mr.  James  Melville,  Minister  of  Kilrenny,  in  Fife,  and 
Professor  of  Theology  in  the  University  of  St  Andrew's;  North  British  Review, 
article  Baden  Powell's  Order  of  Nature. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  67 

u  NEW  CASTLE,  Delaware,  A.D.  1679. 

"  Sand-IIoek  has  always  been  the  principal  place  on  the  South  River, 
as  well  in  the  time  of  the  English  as  of  the  Dutch.  It  is  now  called 
New  Castle  by  the  English.  It  is  situated  upon  the  west  side  of  the 
river,  upon  a  point  which  extends  out,  with  a  sandy  beach,  affording  a 
good  landing-place,  better  than  can  be  found  elsewhere  on  that  account. 
It  lies  a  little  above  the  bay,  where  the  river  bends,  and  runs  south 
from  there,  so  that  you  can  see  down  the  river  southwardly.  The 
greater  portion  of  it  presents  a  beautiful  view  in  perspective,  and 
enables  you  to  see,  from  a  distance,  the  ships  come  out  from  the  great 
bay  and  sail  up  the  river.  Formerly  all  ships  were  accustomed  to 
anchor  here,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  duties  or  obtaining  permits,  and 
to  unload  when  the  goods  were  carried  away  by  water,  in  boats  or 
barks,  or  by  land,  in  carts.  It  was  much  larger  and  more  populous  at 
that  time,  and  had  a  small  fort  called  Nassau;  but  since  the  country 
has  belonged  to  the  English,  ships  may  no  longer  come  here,  or  they 
must  first  declare  and  unload  their  cargoes  at  New  York,  which  has 
caused  this  little  place  to  fall  off  very  much,  and  even  retarded  the  set 
tlement  of  plantations.  What  remains  of  it  consists  of  about  Pfty 
houses,  most  all  of  wood  The  fort  is  demolished,  but  there  is  a  good 
block-house,  having  some  small  cannon  erected  in  the  middle  of  the 
town,  and  sufficient  to  resist  the  Indians  or  an  incursion  of  Chris 
tians,  but  it  could  not  hold  out  long.  This  town  is  the  capital  of 
justice,  where  the  high  court  of  the  South  River  is  held,  having 
three  other  courts  subordinate  to  it,  from  which  appeals  lie  to  it,  as  they 
do  from  it  to  New  York,  and  from  New  York  to  England.  These  three 
minor  courts  are  established,  one  at  Salem,  a  small  village  of  Quakers, 
newly  commenced,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  not  far  from  New  Cas 
tle  ;  another  is  at  Upland,  on  the  west  side,  above  New  Castle,  a 
Swedish  village  ;  and  the  third  is  at  Burlington,  a  new  Quaker  village, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  above  New  Castle.  New  Castle  is  about 
eighty  miles  from  the  falls  [at  Trenton],  and  the  same  distance  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river  or  the  sea.  The  water  in  the  river,  at  New 
Castle,  at  ordinary  flood-tide,  is  fresh,  but  when  it  is  high  spring-tide 
or  the  wind  blows  hard  from  the  southeast,  it  is  brackish  ;  or  if  the 
wind  continues  long,  or  it  is  hard  weather,  it  becomes  saltish.  With  a 
new  or  full  moon  it  makes  high  water  at  New  Castle  at  five  o'clock. 
The  principal  persons  we  have  seen  are  Mr.  Moll  and  his  wife,  Ephraim 
Herman  and  his  wife,  Peter  Aldricks  and  his  wife,  and  Domine  Tesse- 
maker."* 

LOTTERIES. 

During  the  colonial  period  of  our  history,  the  frequent  mode  in  many, 
or  at  least  in  several,  of  the  colonies  of  building  and  endowing  colleges 
and  churches  was  by  lotteries.  For  example,  the  college  of  Nassau  Hall, 
founded  by  Presbyterians,  had  the  benefit  of  two  lotteries  about  the 

*  Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  New  York,  and  Tour  in  several  American  Colonies, 
by  Jasper  Bankers  and  Peter  Sluyter,  A.D.  1079-80,  pp.  227,  228.  From  the 
original  manuscript,  in  Dutch,  found  in  a  bookseller's  shop,  Amsterdam,  by  H.  C. 
Murphy,  and  by  him  translated,  and  published  by  the  Long  Island  Historical 
Society. 


G8  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

year  1705,*  and  the  privilege  of  drawing  a  third  was  granted  to  it  bv 
l lie  Puritan  State  of  Connecticut,  but  it  is  uncertain  whether  or  not  it 
was  ever  done.f  The  steeple  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  was  fin 
ished  and  a  ring  of  bells  and  a  clock  purchased  for  it  by  a  lottery,  in 
1752,J  and  a  supplementary  lottery  in  1753, §  which  Dr.  Franklin  pro 
moted  with  his  great  influence.  ||  A  petition  to  the  Legislature  of  the 
Province  of  Pennsylvania  for  liberty  to  draw  a  lottery,  to  pay  off  the 
balance  of  the  debt  due  for  building  St.  Peter's  Church,  Philadelphia, 
was  authorized  by  its  Yestry  in  1765.  It  was  a  facile  way  of  raising 
money  when  it  could  not  be  done  by  direct  tax;  the  burden  was  self- 
imposed,  and  the  contributor  seemed 'beneficent,  when,  in  truth,  he  was 
selfish, — in  part,  at  least.  No  political  economist,  no  moralist,  and  no 
divine  uttered  a  warning  word  against  the  lottery  as  a  costly 'mode  of 
improvement,  because  raising,  besides  the  sum  necessary  for  its  object, 

another  for  prizes,— as  left  to  be  assessed  by  chance, as  fosterinir,  if 

not  creating,  a  gambling  propensity,  as  tempting  to  fraud  and  breaches 
of  trust,  and  a  reliance  for  the  attainment  of  competence  or  wealth  on 
luck  instead  of  industry  and  frugality.  Its  results  have  often  been  a 
hideous  brood  of  evils, — idleness,  penury,  drunkenness,  dishonesty, 
superstition,  despair,  insanity,  and  suicide.  Even  Dr.  Franklin^"  failed 
to  perceive  the  latent  evils  of  lotteries.  The  colonies,  looking  with 
blind  reverence  to  the  mother-country  as  their  pattern  in  morals  and 
manners,  found  her  imperial  Parliament  for  a  long  period  annually 
voting  a  lottery,  as  part  of  the  ways  and  means  for  the  supplies 
granted.**  If  scruples  were  ever  felt  as  to  the  morality  of  the  lottery, 
its  object,  the  benefit  of  a  church  or  college,  was  an  opiate  to  conscience. 
If  additional  evidence  of  the  state  of  public  opinion  in  the  North  Amer 
ican  colonies  in  regard  to  lotteries  were  needed,  we  have  it  in  a  proposed 
measure  of  the  Continental  Congress  in  1776.  That  body  was  alarmed 
by  the  depreciation  of  the  Continental  money.  Taxation  could  not  be 
ventured,  and  the  resolution  of  Congress,  that  all  persons  refusing  to 
take  the  Continental  bills  at  par  should  be  held  enemies  of  their  country, 
failed  to  arrest  the  growing  evil,  as  we  think  the  merest  tyro  in  politi 
cal  economy  must  have  anticipated  it  would  do.  Other  expedients 
were  resorted  to  by  Congress,  and  among  them  the  raising  a  million 
and  a  half  of  dollars  by  lottery. — Marshall's  Life  of  Washington 
vol.  iii  p.  421. 

The  improved  public  opinion  on  this  subject  has  slowly  grown  up 

*  Dr.  Green's  History  of  Nassau  Hall,  pp   307,  359,  369. 

t  Ibid.,  p.  306. 

t  History  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  pp.  100,  101. 

£  Ibid.,  p.  102. 

||  If  ignorant  of  this  fact,  I  might  have  expected  to  find  a  warning  to  voting 
men  against  adventure  in  lotteries  among  th-i  pithy  aphorisms  "of  "Poor 
Richard." 

fi  History  of  Christ  Church,  Philadelphia,  p.  151. 

'*  For  instances  of  these  votes,  see  Smollett's  History  of  England,  vol.  i.  pp. 
128,  500;  vol.  ii.  pp  17,  17G,  148,  595;  and  for  a  later  o'ne,  European  Magazine, 
vol.  xli.  p.  400,  as  follows:  "The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  stated  the  contract 
for  the  lottery  for  the  service  of  this  year,— advantage  to  the  nation  five  hundred 
and  fifty-five  thousand  pounds,  one  hundred  thousand  tickets,  at  fourteen  pounds 
eleven  shillings  each  ;  entire  sum  to  be  raised,  one  million  four  hundred  and  fiftv- 
fiye  thousand  pounds  !';  The  first  lottery  in  England  was  drawn  January  llth, 
1569,  and  lotteries  were  therein  abolished  A  D.  182U. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  69 

during-  the  present  century,  and  been  sufficiently  strong  to  effect  the 
prohibition  of  lotteries  in  several  of  the  States  of  our  Union,  whilst 
those  authorizing  them,  debauching  the  morals  of  their  own  citizens, 
bring  upon  their  neighbors,  besides  the  usual  evils  of  the  lottery,  viola 
tions  of  their  statutes,  which  impair  that  great  safeguard  of  communi 
ties, — reverence  of  law.  The  lottery  is  one  form  of  the  lot,  and  the 
decision  by  lot  is  not  wrong  in  se.  The  lot  has  been  used  in  ancient 
and  modern  times,  I  believe,  by  all  nations  for  various  purposes.  The 
application  of  the  lot  may  be  right  or  wrong  according  to  its  purpose 
or  consequences.  In  some  instances  it  prevented  evils,  or  at  least  in 
conveniences;  but  in  the  lottery  it  causes  mischief,  its  opponents  hold, 
so  great  as  to  outweigh  any  good  resulting  from  it,  and  to  make  it 
necessary  to  prohibit  it  always  and  everywhere.* 


IE. 
CAPTAIN  THOMAS  READ. 

THAT  the  name  of  Thomas  Read  may  justly  be  placed  in  the  list  of 
bold,  and  skilful,  and  successful  navigators,  appears  by  the  following 
extract  from  the  "Life  of  Robert  Morris,"  volume  ii.  "  Biography  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,"  p.  431: 

"  Mr.  Morris  made  the  first  attempt  to  effect  what  is  termed  an  out- 
of-season  passage  to  China.  This  passage  is  effected  by  going  round 
the  south  cape  of  New  Holland,  thus  avoiding  the  periodical  winds 
prevalent  at  certain  periods  in  the  China  Sea.  In  prosecution  of  this 
object  the  Alliance  (ship),  Captain  Thomas  Read,  equipped  with  ten 
twelve-pounders  and  sixty-five  men,  sailed  from  the  Delaware  on  the 
20th  of  June,  17^*7,  and  arrived  in  safety  on  the  22d  of  December  at 
Canton,  where  considerable  inquiries  were  made  by  the  European  com 
manders  respecting  the  route  that  had  been  taken,  as  it  was  wholly  a 
novel  thing  for  a  vessel  to  arrive  at  that  season  of  the  year.  As  no 
ship  had  ever  before  made  such  a  passage,  great  astonishment  was 
manifested,  and  the  Lords  of  the  British  Admiralty  subsequently  ap 
plied  to  Mr.  Morris  for  information  as  to  the  track  of  the  ship.  It  is 
said  that  her  intended  route  was  traced  out  by  Mr.  Morris,  with  the 
assistance  of  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris."  See,  also,  Encyclopaedia  Ameri 
cana,  vol.  ix.  p.  51. 

*  Since  writing  the  above  paragraph,  I  have  found  tickets,  signed  Samuel 
Patterson,  in  the  following  lotteries:  1st,  Newark  Land  and  Cash  Lottery,  in 
New  Castle  County  ;  2d,  New  Castle  Lottery,  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
American  china  manufacture,  in  1771  ;  and  3d,  the  Second  New  Castle  on  Dela 
ware  Lottery,  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  Presbyterian  churches  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  the  Seceding  Church  in  said  city,  and  the  rresbyterian  church  in 
Kichmond  County,  in  1772. 


LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


THE  FRIGATE  ALLIANCE. 

"The  Alliance  was  the  only  one  of  our  first  navy  of  the  class  of 
frigates  which  was  so  successful  as  to  escape  capture  or  destruction 
during  the  war.  In  1781  she  and  the  Deane  frigate  were  the  only  two 
of  our  former  frigates  left  in  the  service.  She  was  in  many  engage 
ments,  and  always  victorious.  She  was  a  fortunate  ship,  and  a  remark 
ably  fast  sailer.  She  could  either  fight  or  fly  away, — beating  her  adver 
sary  either  by  flight  or  fight. 

"  Twice  she  bore  the  fortunes  of  Lafayette  across  the  ocean.  When 
presented  with  a  relic  of  her  timbers,  he  was  delighted  with  it. 

"  Her  hull,  when  she  became  uuseaworthy,  was  for  many  years 
stretched  along  Petty's  Island,  opposite  Philadelphia,  an  object  of  in 
terest  to  passengers  on  the  river  Delaware. 

"  She  was  built  up  the  river  Merrimac,  at  Salisbury,  Massachusetts, 
and  launched  in  1778:  was  125  feet  long,  about  35  feet  beam,  and 
about  900  tons  burthen,  and  thought  to  be  [too]  long  [and]  narrow, 
shoal  and  sharp,  and  [to  be]  oversparred."—  Watson's  Annals  of  Phila 
delphia,  pp.  692,  693. 

Thomas  Read  was  appointed  a  captain  and  commander  in  the  navy 
of  the  United  States,  June  6th,  1776,  by  Congress,  and  when  their  rank 
was  settled  by  resolution  of  that  body  (10th  October,  1776),  he  stood 
eighth  in  the  list  of  these  officers,  and  was  assigned  to  the  frigate 
Washington,  of  32  guns.*  He  was  at  Trenton  the  day  before  the  battle 
of  Princeton,  and  directed  the  guns  which  raked  the  "stone  bridge  over 
the  Assanpink.  When  appointed  to  a  Continental  frigate,  he  was  in 
command  of  the  Montgomery,  one  of  the  vessels  provided  by  the  Com 
mittee  of  Safety  of  Pennsylvania  to  defend  the  Delaware  Bay  and 
River,  and  resigned  that  command  to  take  this  appointment, — his" resig 
nation  being  accepted.  He  was  (29th  May,  1776)  chief  in  command 
of  the  Pennsylvania  fleet. — Force's  American  Archives,  vol.  vi.  pp. 
667,  1279,  1698,  1699. 

*  Goldsborough's  U.  S.  Naval  Chronicle,  vol.  i.  pp.  8,  9. 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  71 


CHAPTER  II. 

Restrictions  on  trado  and  manufactures  of  the  British  colonies  of  North  America 
— Reflections  thereon — Transportation  of  criminals  to  America — Duties  on 
sugar  and  other  articles — Synopsis  of  the  arguments  for  and  against  the  right 
to  tax  the  British  North  American  colonies  without  their  consent — Opposition 
to  the  stamp-act,  its  repeal,  and  the  happy  results — Delusive  expectations  of 
the  colonists — Right  to  tax  them  not  renounced — Tax  on  glass,  paper,  tea,  and 
painters'  colors,  and  great  alarm  it  causefl — Theories  as  to  the  political  relation 
of  Great  Britain  and  her  North  American  colonies — Mr.  Jefferson's  and  Mr. 
Dickinson's  remarks  thereon — Troops  ordered  to  Boston — Non-importation 
agreements — Circular  letter  of  Mr.  Head  recommending  one  for  New  Castle 
County — Soon  generally  adopted — Measures  for  detecting  and  punishing  viola 
tions  of  it — Repeal  Of  all  duties  but  that  on  tea — Drawback  to  East  India 
Company  on  tea  exported  to  America — Tea  exported  there,  how  received  and 
treated — Boston  port-bill,  arguments  for  and  against  it — Opposed  universally, 
and  money  given  for  relief  of  sufferers  from  it — Meeting  in  New  Castle  County 
for  both  these  objects,  and  Mr.  Read's  share  in  proceedings — Caesar  Rodney's 
letter  informing  him  of  like  proceedings  in  Kent,  and  proposed  ones  in  Sussex — 
Delegates  appointed  from  Delaware  to  the  Congress  held  first  Monday  of  Sep 
tember,  1774 — Its  meeting  and  proceedings — Mr.  Read  a  delegate  thereto,  and 
his  letters  while  attending  it — Character  of  the  state-papers  of  the  Congress, 
and  different  opinions  as  to  their  effect — Recommendations  of  Congress  univer 
sally  adopted — No  pains  spared  to  make  colonists  aware  of  their  rights  and  to 
stir  them  up  to  maintain  them — Mr  Read  one  of  the  Committee  in  New  Cas 
tle  County  to  receive  contributions  for  the  sufferers  under  the  Boston  port-bill 
— Nine  hundred  dollars  raised  and  remitted — Correspondence  relating  thereto 
—  British  Parliament  dissolved,  and  state  of  parties  in  England — New  Parlia 
ment  meets,  king's  speech,  address  in  reply,  hearing  refused  to  the  colonial 
agents,  Lord  Chatham's  motion  for  the  recall  of  troops  from  Boston  and  repeal 
of  obnoxious  act  of  Parliament,  rejected — Massachusetts  declared  to  be  in  re 
bellion,  and  increase  of  land  and  naval  forces  recommended — Lord  North's 
conciliatory  plan — Mr.  Burke's — Battles  of  Lexington  and  Concord — Congress 
meets  10th  May,  1775— Mr.  Read  a  delegate  to  thfs  body — Letters  of  Mr.  Read 
— Capture  of  Ticonderoga — Proceedings,  measures,  and  stat.e-papers  of  Congress 
— General  Washington  elected  commandcr-in-chief — Recess  of  Congress  — 
American  army  before  Boston — Members  of  Mr.  Read's  family  in  the  public 
service — Letters  of  Colonel  Thompson — Expedition  to  Canada — Letter  of  Major 
Macpherson — His  death,  and  repulse  and  death  of  Montgomery  before  Quebec  — 
Letter  of  Mr.  Read — Adjournment  of  Congress — Appendix  A,  notice  of  General 
Thompson — Appendix  B,  notice  of  Ethan  Allen — Appendix  C,  notice  of  Major 
Macpherson — Appendix  D,  Provost  Smith. 

As  soon  as  the  North  American  colonies,  conquering 
what  would  have  been  to  courage,  enterprise,  and  industry 
less  than  their  own,  insuperable  obstacles,  had  established 
a  commerce,  not  only  considerable,  but  capable  of  a  vast 
increase,  the  selfish  policy  of  their  parent  state  sought  to 
monopolize  their  trade  and  manufactures,  and  to  this  end 
subjected  both  to  restrictions.  The  British  Parliament,  by 
the  act  of  12th  Charles  IL,  enacted  that  sugars,  tobacco, 


72  LIFE  AND    CORTIESPONDENCE 

cotton,  wool,  and  other  articles,  should  only  be  carried  to 
England,  Ireland,  Wales,  or  other  British  plantations,  from 
the  American  colonies.  But  not  content  with  the  monopoly 
of  their  exports,  this  nursing  mother,  as  she  was  pleased  to 
style  herself,  in  1663,  by  another  act  of  Parliament,  com 
pelled  them  to  purchase  from  her  merchants  and  manufac 
turers  every  article  of  foreign  production  or  fabric  they 
needed,  except  salt  for  their  fisheries,  wine  from  Madeira 
and  the  Azores,  and  provisions  from  Scotland.  In  1672  a 
further  step  was  taken  in  this  unjust  and  illiberal  system 
by  imposing  duties  on  certain  productions  of  the  colonies, 
exported  from  one  to  the  other,  thus  no  longer  leaving  the 
trade  between  them  free.  These  acts  took  from  them  the 
right  to  seek  the  best  market  for  their  exports,  and  of  re 
ceiving  directly  from  the  place  of  production  their  imports, 
and  so  burdening  them,  for  the  benefit  of  England,  with  the 
difference  of  expense  between  a  direct  and  circuitous  route 
for  their  trade.  In  1750  the  erection  of  mills  or  other  en 
gines  for  slitting  or  rolling  iron,  or  plating-forge  for  making 
steel,  were  prohibited,  and  declared  nuisances,  to  be  abated 
by  the  colonial  governors  under  heavy  penalty,  within  thirty 
days  after  information  that  they  were  erected.*  "Not  a 

*  "  Is  there  in  any  of  the  '  acts  of  trade'  the  smallest  consideration  of 
the  health,  comfort,  wealth,  growth,  population,  agriculture,  manufac 
tures,  commerce,  fisheries  of  the  American  people  ?  All  are  sacrificed 
to  British  commerce,  manufactures,  growth,  and  domination,  and  their 
navy  used  as  the  best  instrument  to  accomplish  this  object.  Apt  scholars 
of  Tacitus,  whose  fundamental  principle  of  philosophy,  morality,  and 
religion  was  that  all  nations  and  all  things  were  to  be  sacrificed  to  the 
grandeur  of  Rome." — Adams's  Writings,  vol.  x.  p.  340. 

"  Mr.  Otis,  in  his  argument  against  '  writs  of  assistance,'  examined 
the  'acts  of  trade,'  and  demonstrated  that  if  they  were  to  be  considered 
as  revenue  laws,  they  destroyed  all  our  security  of  property,  liberty, 
and  life,  the  English  constitution,  and  the  charter  of  Massachusetts.  He 
considered  the  distinction  between  internal  and  external  taxes  at  that 
time  a  popular  and  commonplace  distinction,  but  asserted  there  was 
no  such  distinction  in  theory,  or  upon  any  principle  but  necessity.  The 
necessity  that  the  commerce  of  the  empire  should  be  under  one  direction 
was  obvious.  The  Americans  were  so  sensible  of  this  necessity  that 
they  had  connived  at  the  distinction  between  internal  and  external 
taxes,  and  had  submitted  to  the  acts  of  trade  as  regulations  of  com 
merce,  and  never  as  taxations  and  revenue  laics,  nor  had  the  British 
government  until  then  ever  attempted  to  enforce  them  as  such.  They 
had  been  dormant  in  this  character  for  almost  a  century.  The  naviga 
tion  act  he  allowed  to  be  binding  on  Massachusetts  because,  by  her 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  73 

hob-nail,"  said  a  member  of  the  British  Parliament,  "  should 
be  made  in  America."*  This  system  of  monopoly  would 
have  been  intolerable  had  it  been  entirely  submitted  to  or 
enforced,  but  these  tyrrmnioal  statutes  were  disobeyed,  as 
far  as  they  could  be,  without  open  resistance  to  authority, 
and  evasions  of  them  were  winked  at.  But  it  would  be 
unfair  not  to  notice  the  advantages  derived  by  the  colonies 
from  the  parent  state.  They  were  encouraged  to  produce 
new  articles,  especially  those  which  Britain  was  obliged  to 
import,  by  bounties,  which  were  allowed  on  tar,  pitch,  tur 
pentine,  hemp,  raw  silk,  flax,  indigo,  staves,  masts,  and 
yards,  it  is  apparent,  for  her  own  benefit  rather  than  theirs, 
though  benefited  they  were.  Her  protection  and  assist 
ance,  too,  were  experienced  in  her  wars,  especially  the 
French,  which  extended  to  them,  but  which  were  waged 
not  for  their  benefit  but  their  own  security  or  aggrandize 
ment.  The  restrictions  upon  the  commerce  and  manufac 
tures  of  the  American  colonies  were  alike  selfish,  illiberal, 
and  unjust,  but  not  alike  injurious.  Where  there  were  vast 
quantities  of  land  to  be  settled  and  cultivated,  where  capital 
was  small  and  labor  high,  agriculture,  not  manufactures, 
was  the  proper  because  the  remunerative  occupation.  For 
the  colonists  to  become  manufacturers,  even  to  the  extent 
of  supplying  their  own  wants,  was  an  impossibility.  They 
possessed  neither  the  capital  nor  the  skill  needed  for  fabri 
cating  machinery.  If  by  miracle,  availing  themselves  of 
their  magnificent  water-power,  they  could  have  erected 
factories  upon  their  streams,  and  diverted  labor  into  a  new 
channel,  and  provided  sufficient  raw  materials,  and  manu 
factured  goods,  and  brought  them  into  market,  they  would 
have  been  met  and  driven  out  by  better  and  cheaper  arti 
cles. f  Every  statute  of  the  British  Parliament  restraining 
or  prohibiting  manufactures  in  the  American  colonies  might 

Legislature,  she  had  consented  to  it.  In  1675,  after  letters  and  orders 
from  the  king,  Governor  Winthrop  candidly  informed  him  that  the  law 
had  been  unexecuted  because  it  was  thought  unconstitutional,  Parlia 
ment  having  no  power  to  enact  it." — Writings  of  John  Adams,  vol.  x. 
pp.  316,  317. 

*  This  narrow  spirit  was  ridiculed  by  another  member  of  the  British 
Parliament,  when  he  said,  "The  colonists  should  be  compelled  by  an 
act  of  that  body  to  send  their  horses  to  England  to  be  shod." — John 
Adams's  Writings,  vol.  x.  p.  3^0. 

f  Nor  could  they  protect  their  infant  manufactures  by  high  tariff. 

6 


74  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

have  been  repealed  without  injury  or  risk  of  injury  to  the 
manufacturers  of  the  mother-country.  The  enactment  of 
these  statutes  evinced  either  a  strange  want  of  sagacity  in 
statesmen  of  that  day  or  an  unworthy  deference  to  the  nar 
row  views  and  prejudices  of  a  large,  rich,  and  influential 
class  of  their  fellow-subjects  for  selfish  ends.  The  colonists 
could  not  have  become  manufacturers,  nor  was  it  their  in 
terest,  in  that  stage  of  their  progress,  to  become  so.  For 
almost  forty  years,  after  every  employment  was  open  to  the 
industry,  the  enterprise,  and  the  capital  of  the  colonists,  in 
their  new  and  happy  condition  of  citizens  of  an  independ- 
dent  country,  agriculture  and  commerce  continued  to  be 
their  pursuits.*  The  limits  of  the  regal  and  parliamentary 
authority  over  the  colonies  were  undefined,  and  various 
controversies  arose.f  The  colonies,  notwithstanding  these/ 

*  The  transportation  of  criminals  to  the  colonies  was  enumerated 
among  the  wrongs  done  them  by  their  unkind  parent.  But  we  may, 
with  good  grounds,  deny  that  it  was  a  grievance.  The  great  want  of 
the  colonies,  as  of  all  newly-settled  countries,  was  population,  which  a 
little  consideration  will  show  this  transportation,  in  a  degree,  supplied. 
At  first  view  it  may  be  thought  criminals  could  be  no  gain  to  a  com 
munity,  but  the  burglar,  the  footpad,  the  thief,  or  even  the  homicide,  in 
England,  would  not  necessarily  nor  probably  be  such,  and,  in  fact,  was 
not  such,  under  circumstances  entirely  different  from  those  which  made 
him  a  criminal  at  home.  In  the  colonies  he  found  himself  in  commu 
nities  industrious,  moral,  and  religious,  where  labor  was  in  demand, 
wages  consequently  high,  living  good  and  cheap,  and  therefore  without 
the  motives  to  crime  which  beset  him  in  the  land  of  his  birth ;  in  short, 
it  was  more  to  his  interest  to  be  an  honest  man  than  a  rogue,  and  an 
honest  man  (with  exceptions),  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  he  became. 
Sold  for  no  long  time,  as  a  servant,  the  enforced  labor  and  restraints  of 
his  condition  were  necessary  to  put  him  in  a  right  course.  His  servi 
tude  ended,  he  was,  in  a  great  majority  of  cases,  reformed  in  morals, 
vigorous,  healthy,  and  industrious;  and  a  few  years  more  of  labor, 
where  land  was  cheap,  made  him  a  freeholder.  The  colonists  might 
then  well  have  welcomed  the  transported  criminal  to  their  shores,  and 
treated  with  contempt  the  taunt  that  "their  Adam  and  Eve  came  out 
of  Newgate." 

f  In  1757  Lord  Granville  said  to  Dr.  Franklin,  "The  king  is  the 
legislator  of  the  colonies."  Franklin  replied,  "  This  was  new  doctrine 
to  him.  He  had  always  understood  from  their  charters  that  the  laws 
of  the  colonies  were  to  be  made  by  their  Assemblies,  to  be  presented, 
indeed,  to  the  king  for  his  approbation,  but  that  being  once  given,  he 
could  not  alter  nor  repeal  them.  Twenty  years  before,"  he  adds,  "  it 
was  proposed  by  a  clause  in  a  bill,  brought  into  Parliament  by  the  min 
istry,  to  make  the  king's  instructions  laws  in  the  colonies,  but  tins  clause 
was  thrown  out  by  the  Commons,  for  which  the  colonists  adored  them 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  75 

clogs,  wonderfully  prospered.  Each  year  saw  new  tracts 
of  wilderness  reclaimed  by  the  hardy  Americans,  and  new 
seas  whitened  hy  the  swelling  sails  of  their  shipping.  The 
treaty  of  peace  signed  in  Paris  in  1763  put  an  end  to  the 
Gallic  power  on  the  American  continent,  which,  if  it  re 
strained  England  from  some  stretches  of  her  authority  over 
her  colonies,  also  bridled  their  spirit  of  independence.  With 
this  peace  came  a  new  policy.  The  plan  of  taxing  America, 
suggested  from  time  to  time  by  officials  to  different  minis 
ters,  had  never  been  seriously  entertained  until,  in  an  evil 
hour  for  England,  a  minister,  skilled  in  the  details  of  finance, 
but  without  the  comprehensive  views  of  a  statesman,  of 
which  he  was  incapable,  resolved  to  adopt  and  execute  it, 
prompted  by  the  augmented  debt  of  the  nation,  the  neces 
sity  for  new  sources  of  revenue,  the  difficulty  of  discovering 
them,  and  the  opposition  to  every  new  tax  he  had  proposed. 
In  1764  Parliament,  by  an  act  passed  April  5th,  continued 
and  perpetuated  the  duties  on  sugar,  molasses,*  and  certain 
other  articles  imported  into  the  North  American  colonies, 
towards  raising  a  revenue,  and  enacted  that  all  penalties  for 
violations  of  the  acts  of  trade  in  America  might  be  re 
covered  in  any  colonial  Vice- Admiralty  Court.f  In  1765, 
March  22d,  the  stamp-act  was  enacted,  as  in  its  preamble 
declared,  "to  raise  further  revenue  in  America."  The  uni 
versal  opposition  to  this  measure,  the  proceedings  of  the 
first  General  Congress  of  the  colonies,  those  of  the  colonial 
Assemblies  and  popular  meetings,  the  newspaper  articles 
and  pamphlets,  so  effective  in  enlightening  the  people  on 
this  momentous  question,  and  stirring  them  to  resistance, 
are  familiar  to  my  readers,  with  the  non-importation  agree 
ments,  the  consequent  stagnation  of  trade  and  clamor 


as  their  friends,  and  the  friends  of  liberty,  until  from  their  measures  in 
1765  it  seemed  that  they  had  refused  this  point  of  sovereignty  to  the 
king  only  that  they  might  reserve  it  for  themselves." — Autobiography 
of  Dr.  Franklin,  Bigelow's  Edition. 

*  "The  tax  on  molasses  and  sugar  would  raise  twenty-five  thousand 
pounds,  enough  to  pay  the  salaries  of  the  governors  and  admiralty- 
judges  of  all  the  colonies." — Adams's  Writings,  vol.  x.  p.  349. 

f  The  judges  of  these  admiralty  courts  were  dependent,  and  their 
forms  of  proceedings  according  to  the  civil  law,  without  juries,  and  open 
examination  of  witnesses,  and  the  publicity  of  procedure  of  the  common 
law. 


76  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

against  the  government,  the  change  of  ministry,  and  repeal 
of  the  stamp-act.* 

"  The  following  is  a  synopsis  of  the  principal  arguments  urged  for 
and  against  the  claim  of  Great  Britain  to  tax  her  North  American  colo 
nies  without  their  consent : 

PRO. 

1.  The  colonies  have  been  planted  and  nourished  by  British  care  and 
indulgence. 

2.  Defended  at  great  cost. 

8.  Reasonable,  therefore,  that  they  should  contribute  to  the  general 
wants  of  the  empire,  of  which  they  are  a  part,  and  especially  aid  in 
paying  a  debt  contracted  to  protect  them,  and  ungrateful  in  them  to  re 
fuse  so  to  do. 

4.  The  navigation  acts,  the  palladium  of  British  commerce,  had  been 
relaxed  in  their  favor. 

5.  The  colonists  were  virtually  represented  in  the  British   Parlia 
ment. 

6.  The  alleged  connection  between  taxation  and  representation  could 
not  stand  the  test  of  historical  inquiry. 

7.  Various  taxes  had  been  raised  without  laws  by  forced  benevo 
lences,  ship-money,  etc. 

8.  Representation  arbitrary,  and  possessed,  actually,  by  but  a  small 
part  of  the  British,  or  any  people,  while  taxation   was  a  part  of  the 
general  power  to  legislate. 

9.  The  navigation  acts  cramped  and  cut  off  the  colonial  trade,  and 
the  distinction  between  internal  and  external  taxes  was  unfounded  for 
taxes  levied  on  articles  at  ports,  as  much  felt  as  if  raised  in  the  interior 
of  the  colonies,  yet  the  legality  of  the  navigation  acts  was  never  ques 
tioned. 

10.  If  a  practice  has  long  and  generally  prevailed  and  not  been  ques 
tioned,  as  a  number  of  precedents  proved  was  true  of  this,  it  became 
law  and  constitution  by  the  very  admission. 

11.  Various  statutes  were  quoted  taxing  Chester  and  Durham  with 
out  representation. 

12.  If  the  colonists  by  migrating  did  not  lose  their  right  to  vote  for 
members  of  the  British   Parliament,  yet  by  their  own  act  they  have 
made  its  exercise  impossible,  and  cannot  on  this  ground  evade  their 
liability  to  be  taxed  in  common  with  all  British  subjects. 

CON. 

1.  If  the  colonists  owed  the  same  allegiance  to  the  king,  and  subor 
dination  to  the  Parliament,  as  the  people  of  Great  Britain: 

2.  They  were  entitled  to  the  same  privileges,  rights,  and  immunities 
which  were  confirmed  by  charters  and  usage. 

3.  No  taxes  could  be  imposed  on  free-born  Britons — and  such  were 
the  colonists — without  their  consent  by  their  representatives. 

4.  That  the  colonists  were  not,  and  could  not  be,  represented  in  the 
British  Parliament, — not  actually  nor  virtually. 

5.  The  perfection  of  representation  is  when 'the  delegate  is  bound,  as 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  77 

The  stamp-act  was  repealed.  There  was  the  calm,  which 
alike  succeeds  agitation  of  the  elements  or  human  passions. 
Trade  resumed  its  ancient  channel.  The  colonial  merchant 
sent  his  orders  home;  the  British  manufacturer,  the  old 
market  restored,  again  found  employment;  and  along  the 
quays  of  Philadelphia,  New  York,  and  Boston,  the  chief 

well  as  the  constituent,  by  the  laws  he  has  a  share  in  enacting,  and 
suffers  equally  from  mischievous  ones;  and  when  this  is  true,  subjects, 
though  deprived  of  the  elective  franchise,  are  still  virtually  represented  ; 
but  of  a  Parliament  taxing  America  this  could  not  be  true,  since,  as  it 
imposed  burdens  on  the  Americans,  it  relieved  its  own  constituents. 

6.  The  colonists,  ex  necessitate,  have  exclusive  power  of  legislation 
in  all  matters  of  internal  polity,  subject  only  to  the  royal  veto  in  the 
accustomed  manner. 

7.  The  only  representatives  of  the  colonists,  those  chosen  by  them 
selves. 

8.  The  right  "of  binding  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever,"  if 
conceded,  or  successfully  asserted,  would  leave  them  in  truth  without 
property. 

9  All  supplies  of  the  crown  were  free  gifts,  money-bills  originating 
in  the  Commons,  being  only  sent  to  the  Lords  for  the  form  of  legisla 
tion,  being  returned  to  the  Commons  to  await  the  royal  fiat,  and  the 
king  thanking,  not  the  Lords  and  Commons,  but  his  faithful  Commons 
alone,  for  supplies. 

10.  No  lapse  of  time  or  accumulation  of  precedents  could  make  that 
just  which  was  unjust,  or  constitutional  which  was  unconstitutional. 

11.  As  to  Chester,  Durham,  Wales,  and  Lancaster,  Parliament,  by 
giving   them   representation,   most   emphatically,   in    the   language  of 
Burke,  "recognized  the  equity  of  not  suffering  any  considerable  district, 
where  British  subjects  may  act  as  a  body,  to  be  taxed  without  their 
own  voice  in  the  grant." 

12.  If  Ireland  and  Wales  have  been  taxed,  and  otherwise  legislated 
for,  without  representation,  they  were  conquered  countries,  and  treated 
as  such:  but  Ireland  has  her  Parliament. 

13.  The  wars,  alleged  to  have  been  waged  for  the  colonies,  were,  in 
fact,  Great  Britain's  own  wars  to  preserve  or  extend  her  power,  and  the 
colonists  liberally  contributed  both  men  and  money  to  aid  in  carrying 
them  on,  and  thus  compensated  whatever  benefit  they  incidentally  re 
ceived  ;   besides  being  heavily  taxed  by  the  burdens  and  restrictions  on 
their  Irade. 

14.  The  object  of  the  trade  acts  was  not  taxation.     The  power  of 
Parliament  to  regulate  trade  was  not  disputed,  beoause  this  body  alone 
could  exercise  it,  but  this  tacit  assent  involved  no  admission  of  the  right 
to  tax  the  colonies  without  their  consent. 

15.  The  colonial  charters  were  forfeitable,  but  only  for  good  cause, 
after  hearing  in  defence,  and  judgment.     The  colonies  were  not  merely 
corporations:    they   were   communities,   dependent,   indeed,    but   with 
political  rights,  of  which  no  forfeitures  or  revocations  of  their  charters 
could  deprive  them. 


78  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

marts  of  America,  were  again  heard  the  cheering  sounds  of 
business.  But  were  not  the  colonists  rejoicing  prematurely? 
Was  the  solemn  declaration  by  the  imperial  Parliament,  of 
"their  right  to  bind  them  in  all  cases  whatever,"  unmean 
ing?  Might  they  not,  at  any  future  session,  exercise  that 
power  to  tax  them  without  their  consent,  which  would  rob 
them  of  all  property  in  their  goods,  their  chattels,  and  their 
lands  ?  Had  the  eloquence  and  the  logic  of  Pitt,  and  Burke, 
and  Camden,  and  Barre  wrought  conviction  in  the  mind  of 
England  that  this  power  was  at  war  with  the  eternal  prin 
ciples  of  justice  and  its  famed  constitution,  or  did  they  still 
hope  and  purpose  to  relieve  themselves,  in  part,  from  their 
burden  of  taxes  by  imposing  some  of  it  upon  their  trans 
atlantic  fellow-subjects  ?  These  questions  were,  no  doubt, 
put  by  reflecting  men,  but  the  mass  of  the  colonists,  ready, 
as  men  have  ever  been,  to  believe  what  they  wish,  con 
sidered  the  repeal  of  the  stamp-act  the  renunciation  of  the 
claim  of  right  to  tax  them  without  their  consent,  and  the 
declaratory  act  but  a  salvo  for  the  wounded  pride  of  the 
parent  state. 

The  Rockinghatn  ministry,  by  not  coupling  the  repeal  of 
the  obnoxious  stamp-act  with  the  renunciation  of  this  claim, 
lost  the  opportunity,  which  wa.s  never  again  presented,  of 
removing  by  this  single  concession  all  discontent  and  all 
distrust.  The  Grafton  administration  soon  succeeded.  The 
act  of  Parliament  laying  duties  on  glass,  paper,  pasteboard, 
white  and  red  lead,  painters'  colors,  and  tea,  was  passed. 
The  colonists  were  more  exasperated  by  this  measure  than 
by  the  stamp-act,  and  they  \vere  more  alarmed  because 
troops  \vere  ordered  to  Boston  to  overawe  disaffection.* 

*  They  had  to  determine  on  what  ground  they  should  rest  their  cause. 
Mr.  Jefferson's  theory,  which  found  no  advocate,  even  in  Virginia,  but 
Chancellor  Wythe,  was  that  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies  were  co 
ordinate  people,  with  no  tie  but  that  of  a  common  executive,  their. rela 
tion  being  that  of  Great  Britain  and  Scotland  before  their  union,  or 
that  of  Great  Britain  and  Hanover  after  the  accession  of  George  I. 
(Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  i.  pp.  8,  10,  11.)  This  theory 
was  sustained  by  no  facts  in  the  colonial  history.  Great  Britain  had 
certainly  never  legislated,  before  the  union,  in  restraint  of  the  trade  or 
manufactures  of  Scotland,  and  not  at  any  period  in  restriction  of  those 
of  Hanover,  while  she  had  monopolized  the  commerce  of  the  colonists 
from  the  date  of  the  navigation  acts,  and  almost  prohibited  their  manu 
factures,  and  this,  too,  with  their  tacit  assent,  with  the  single  exception 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  79 

Massachusetts  sent  forth  circulars  to  all  the  colonies,  warn 
ing  them  of  their  danger,  and  again  exhorting  them  to 


mentioned  by  Mr.  Jefferson  of  Virginia,  when  she  capitulated  to  the 
Commonwealth,  stipulating  for  free  trade,  which  stipulation  was  disre 
garded.  The  dissentients  to  this  theory,  had  it  been  received,  would 
have  been  numerous,  and  so  the  unanimity  essential  to  success  would 
have  been  lost.  Happily  for  his  countrymen,  John  Dickinson,  in  his 
"  Farmers'  Letters,"  had  propounded  and  ably  maintained  the  theory, 
so  accordant  with  the  history  of  the  colonial  relation  to  the  mother- 
country,  and  so  moderate  as  not  to  shut  the  door  to  accommodation, 
which,  while  it  denied  the  right  to  tax  the  colonies  without  their  con 
sent,  admitted  the  power  of  the  parent  state  to  regulate  their  commerce 
and  restrain  their  manufactures  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole  empire, 
provided  the  acts  for  so  doing  should  be  bona  fide  for  such  purpose,  and 
not  to  raise  a  solid  revenue.  That  this  was  the  proper  theory  at  that 
stage  of  the  contest*  there  can  be  no  better  evidence  than  the  fact  that 
it  was,  with  extraordinary  unanimity,  at  once  adopted,  from  Massachu 
setts  to  Georgia.  The  colonies  differed  so  much  in  their  constitutions, 
religion;  laws,  customs,  and  manners,  their  intercourse  with  and  knowl 
edge  of  each  other  were  so  little,  that  to  unite  them  in  the  same  prin 
ciples  in  theory  and  system  of  action  was,  John  Adams  tells  us,  most 
difficult,  and  its  accomplishment  wonderful.  "Thirteen  clocks,"  he 
adds,  "  were  made  to  strike  together,  a  perfection  of  mechanism  which 
no  artist  had  ever  before  effected." — Letter  of  John  Adams,  Niles's 
Register,  No.  3*0,  7th  March,  1818,  vol.  xiv.  p.  13. 

A  compromise  on  this  basis  might  be  proposed,  with  reasonable  hope 
of  success,  and  if  rejected,  all  would  be  convinced  that  they  must  choose 
between  an  appeal  to  arms  or  unconditional  submission.  However 
strong  the  array  of  argument  from  reason  and  justice  against  this  the 
ory,  which  Jefferson  sneeringly  calls  the  half-way  house  of  John  Dickin 
son,  the  expediency  of  then  adopting  it  was,  I  think,  manifest.  By 
adopting  the  Jeffersonian  theory,  the  colonists  would  have  lost  to  their 
cause  a  party  in  the  mother-country,  powerful  not  from  its  number  but 
the  great  abilities  of  its  leaders.  How  does  this  theory  consist  with  this 
passage  from  a  speech  of  William  Pitt  ?  "  Let  the  stamp-act  be  repealed, 
etc. ;  at  the  same  time  let  the  sovereign  authority  of  this  country  over 
the  colonies  be  asserted  in  as  strong  terms  as  can  be  devised,  and  be 
made  to  extend  to  every  point  of  legislation  whatsoever,  and  it  be  de 
clared  that  we  may  bind  their  trade,  confine  their  manufactures,  and 
exercise  every  power  whatsoever,  except  that  of  taking  their  money  out 
of  their  pockets  without  their  consent."  Pitt's  championship,  and  the 
support  of  the  party  of  which  he  was  the  most  renowned  leader,  would 
have  ceased  upon  the  announcement  of  pretensions  so  extravagant  as 
those  holding  the  above-cited  opinion  would  have  considered  them. 
Jefferson  proposed  no  better  terms  of  compromise  than  Dickinson's, — 
they  were  in  truth  the  same.  "Place  us,"  said  he,  in  answer  to  the 
objection  that  his  theory  would  make  void  the  navigation  acts,  "  place 


*  The  question  being  not  what  ought  to  be  the  relation  of  the  colonies  to  the 
mother-country,  but  what  it  had  been  and  then  was. 


80  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

unite  with  her  in  resistance,  and,  as  before,  successfully. 
The  people  rose  everywhere  in  their  might,  the  press  was 
active,  the  colonial  Assemblies  again  remonstrated,  and 
resolutions  were  almost  universally  adopted  by  the  colonists 
to  discourage  the  use  of  British  manufactures  and  foster 
their  own.  There  were  dissensions  between  the  colonial 
Assemblies  and  their  governors. 

An  agreement  of  the  colonists  not  to  import  from  the 
mother-country  was  the  measure  that  seemed  best  calculated 
to  extort  from  her  redress  of  grievances,  for  to  all  her  mer 
chants  it  was  injurious,  while  to  many  of  them  it  was  ruin 
ous.  The  export  trade  of  Great  Britain  to  her  North 
American  colonies  amounted  to  six  millions  of  pounds  ster 
ling,  being  more  than  one-third  of  her  whole  exports.* 
Might  not  the  colonists  be  with  reason  hopeful  of  the  potent 
effect  of  a  measure  which  would  disturb  and  lessen,  if  not 
cut  off,  so  rich  a  traffic?  It  was,  perhaps,  impossible  to 
convince  Great  Britain  that  they  were  in  earnest  in  their 
opposition  to  her  arbitrary  acts,  unless  they  proved  their 
sincerity  by  subjecting  themselves  to  some  great  privations. 

The  following  extract  from  a  circular  letter,  addressed 
by  Mr.  Read  to  his  fellow-citizens  in  the  lower  part  of  New 
Castle  County,  explains  why  the  inhabitants  of  Delaware 
entered  into  this  agreement  at  a  later  period  than  their 
brother  colonists.  "In  the  present  struggle  made  for  liberty 
by  the  colonists  around  us  I  hope  this  government  will  not 
be  pointed  out  as  unconcerned  in  the  common  cause.  Hith 
erto  the  representatives  of  the  people,  in  Assembly,  have 

us,  if  Britain  will  not  have  the  basis  of  her  assumed  power  scrutinized, 
in  the  condition  we  were  [in]  when  George  III.  ascended  the  throne, 
and  we  will  be  satisfied."  This  seems  to  me  an  abandonment  of  this 
theory,  and  but  an  impotent  conclusion  from  bold  premises.  When 
Jefferson  characterized  John  Dickinson  "as  a  lawyer  of  more  ingenuity 
than  sound  judgment,  and  still  more  timid  than  ingenious,"  he  did  great 
injustice  to  this  eminent  man;  and  history,  I  believe,  has  not  ratified, 
and  will  not  ratify,  this  disparaging  opinion.  "In  the  Congress  of 
1775,"  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  volume  i.  of  his  Writings  (p.  8),  states  that 
"the  declaration  of  the  causes  for  taking  up  arms" — which  he  drew — 
"was,  out  of  indulgence  to  John  Dickinson,  permitted  to  be  rewritten, 
almost,  by  him,"  and  adds,  "he  was  so  honest  and  able  that  he  was  in 
dulged  and  yielded  to  by  those  who  did  not  have  his  scruples."  Which 
of  these  opinions  did  Thomas  Jefferson  really  hold? 

*  Burke's  Miscellaneous  Works,  vol.  ii.  pp.  27,  ^8.  (Boston  Edition, 
1806.) 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  SI 

contributed  their  mite  with  other  bodies  of  the  like  kind 
through  the  continent;  it  now  becomes  more  particularly 
the  business  of  the  people,  in  general,  to  consider  their 
present  situation,  and  what  may  be  further  done  in  support 
of  measures  apparently  necessary:  I  mean  the  non-impor 
tation  agreements  entered  into  from  time  to  time  since  the 
last  act  of  Parliament,  imposing  duties  on  tea,  paper,  glass, 
and  painters'  colors.  From  our  local  circumstances  it 
seemed  unnecessary  for  the  people  of  this  government  to 
enter  into  resolutions  of  non-importation  from  the  mother- 
country,  as  we  had  no  traders  among  us  who  imported  goods 
from  Great  Britain,  except  in  very  small  quantities,  and  in 
vessels  belonging  to  Philadelphia,  which  was  sufficiently 
guarded  by  the  agreement  of  her  own  citizens.  Lately  it 
has  been  discovered  that  a  few  of  the  traders  of  that  city 
have  become  tired  of  what  they  call  virtuous  attempts  to 
restore  freedom  to  America,  and  endeavored  to  dissolve  the 
Philadelphia  non-importation  agreement.  One  of  the  prin 
cipal  arguments  made  use  of  is  the  probability  of  losing  the 
trade  of  this  government.  They  say  that  the  Maryland 
non-importation  agreement  having  excepted  many  more 
articles  of  merchandise  than  that  of  Philadelphia,  the  peo 
ple  here  will  form  a  connection  in  the  way  of  trade  with 
the  Marylanders,  introduced  by  going  there  to  purchase  ex 
cepted  articles,  which  trade  may  continue  after  all  contests 
with  the  mother-country  are  over.  This  is  a  plausible  and 
forcible  argument,  and  to  remove  all  the  weight  it  may 
have,  the  inhabitants  of  the  upper  parts  of  this  county, 
particularly  in  and  about  the  towns  of  New  Castle,  Wil 
mington,  Christiana,  Newark,  Newport,  and  Hamburg 
Landing,  have  resolved  to  support  the  Philadelphia  agree 
ment.  It  is  now  in  the  power  of  the  people  of  this  govern 
ment  to  lend  a  helping  hand,  and  be  of  real  use  in  the 
general  cause.  Some  of  the  people  of  New  York  have 
deserted  it,  but,  it  is  thought,  will  be  brought  back  to  their 
duty.  To  prevent  the  like  accident  from  taking  place  in 
Philadelphia,  we  ought  to  destroy  the  argument  alleged  be 
fore.  Let  us  be  content  to  confine  our  trade  to  its  former 
channels;  there  is  our  natural  connection;  let  us  forego 
some  trifling  conveniences  in  hopes  of  greater  advantage; 
resolve  not  to  purchase  any  goods  out  of  the  government 
but  such  as  are  excepted  in  the  Philadelphia  agreement. 


82  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and    fall    upon   some   effectual    measures    to    support    this 
conduct." 

The  agreement  recommended  by  Mr.  Read  was  soon  very 
generally  adopted.  It  was  dated  the  17th  day  of  August, 
1769,  and  was  framed  with  much  ability  and  vigor.  After 
stating,  in  energetic  language,  the  grievances  which  com 
pelled  them  to  co-operate  with  their  fellow-colonists  in  the 
measures  best  calculated  to  invite  or  enforce  redress,  these 
patriotic  citizens  "mutually  promise,  declare,  and  agree, 
upon  their  word  of  honor  and  faith  as  Christians" — 

"1.  That  from  and  after  this  date  we  will  not  import, 
into  any  part  of  America,  any  goods,  wares,  or  merchandise 
whatsoever,  from  any  part  of  Great  Britain,  contrary  to 
the  spirit  and  intention  of  the  agreement  of  the  merchants 
of  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 

"2.  That  we  never  will  have  any  dealing,  commerce,  or 
intercourse,  whatever,  with  any  man  residing  in  any  part 
of  the  British  dominions,  who  shall,  for  lucre  or  any  other 
purpose,  import  into  any  part  of  America  any  article  con 
trary  to  the  said  agreement. 

"3.  That  any  one  of  us  who  shall  wilfully  break  this 
agreement  shall  have  his  name  published  in  the  public  news 
papers  as  a  betrayer  of  the  civil  rights  of  America,  and  be 
forever  deemed  infamous,  and  a  betrayer  of  his  country." 

It  is  a  curious  fact  that  no  measure  was  devised  for  de 
tecting  violators  of  this  agreement  until  nearly  a  year  after 
it  had  been  entered  into.  Such  was  the  confidence  in  the 
virtue  of  the  community  that  an  infraction  of  this  compact 
was  little,  if  at  all,  apprehended.  But  when  the  enthusi 
asm,  which  gave  animation  and  effect  to  this  patriotic  act, 
was,  in  some  measure,  abated  by  the  privations — certainly 
not  trivial — to  which  it  subjected  those  who  had  signed  it, 
some  individuals  basely  forfeited  their  word,  their  honor, 
and  their  Christian  faith  by  violating  this  solemn  pledge. 
Those  who  led  the  van  of  these  covenant-breakers  were 
shopkeepers;  they  had  not,  perhaps,  less  patriotism  than 
other  classes  of  their  fellow-citizens,  but  their  virtue  was 
assailed  by  stronger  temptations.  Nor  were  they  the  only 
apostates,  for  if  there  were  sellers  of  interdicted  merchan 
dise,  there  must  also  have  been  purchasers.  To  arrest  this 
evil,  which  threatened  the  virtual  dissolution  of  the  com 
pact,  a  measure  was  adopted  as  simple  as  it  proved  effica- 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  83 

cious.  On  the  4th  of  June,  1770,  Mr.  Read  expressed 
himself  on  this  subject  as  follows,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
one  of  his  friends:  "Several  towns  in  this  county  have 
chosen  two  committee  men,  each  to  adopt  such  resolutions 
respecting  trade  as  the  present  emergency  seems  to  require. 
They  met  lately  at  Christiana,  and  were  unanimously  of 
opinion  that  the  Philadelphia  agreement  should  be  sup 
ported,  and  for  this  purpose  two  persons  were  appointed  in 
each  town  a  committee  of  inspection  to  watch  the  trade.  The 
duty  of  these  persons  is  to  examine  what  goods  are  brought 
into  this  government,  and  in  case  they  discover  any  sales 
by  shopkeepers  of  articles  not  excepted,  to  report  the  same 
to  the  general  committee,  who  shall  determine  what  shall 
be  done  thereupon."  Mr.  Read  was  elected  chairman  of 
this  general  committee.  The  subordinate  committees  per 
formed  their  duties  with  such  diligence  and  activity  that 
they  equalled  the  agents  of  the  best  organized  police  in  the 
discovery  of  delinquents.  Every  section  of  country  was 
subjected  to  a  system  of  espionage  so  inconsistent  with 
American  notions  of  liberty  that  nothing  but  the  urgency 
of  the  case,  and  benefits  it  produced,  could  have  induced  the 
citizens  to  tolerate  it.  The  adherents  of  Great  Britain 
were  too  few  to  shield  the  violators  of  the  compact  from  its 
penalties.  When  information  was  given  against  them,  they 
generally  appeared  before  the  general  committee,  who  in 
flicted  no  other  punishment  than  requiring  a  public  declar 
ation  from  the  offenders  of  sorrow  for  the  offence,  a  promise 
not  to  repeat  it,  and  payment  to  the  committee  of  the  proceeds 
of  sales  of  non-excepted  articles  for  the  use  of  the  poor  of  the 
county.  The  delinquents,  however,  were  not  numerous. 

The  prime  minister,  the  Duke  of  Grafton,  proposed  and 
urged  the  repeal  of  all  the  duties  for  raising  revenue  in 
America;  but  the  British  Parliament,  considering  that  this 
total  repeal  would  be  the  relinquishment  of  their  asserted 
right  of  supremacy  over  the  colonies,  while  by  the  act  of 
the  5th  of  March,  1770,  they  repealed  the  other  duties,  re 
tained  that  on  tea,  in  the  vain  hope  that  the  trilling  sum 
thus  imposed  would  be  paid,  and  not  yet  aware  that  the 
contest  was  for  a  principle  the  colonists  would  never  sur 
render,  and  that  they  believed  the  whole  property  of 
America  was  involved  in  this  small  tax,  just  as  their  ances 
tors  did  that  the  whole  property  of  England  was  in  the  suit 


84  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

against  John  Hampden  for  twenty  shillings;  for,  they  rea 
soned  truly,  if  Parliament  could,  on  every  ounce  of  tea  bought 
by  a  colonist,  levy,  without  his  consent,  a  tax  of  even  one 
farthing,  they  might  at  pleasure  take  every  shilling  of  every 
man  in  America.  In  1773  was  passed  the  act  of  Parlia 
ment  allowing  the  East  India  Company  a  drawback  on  tea 
exported  to  the  American  colonies,  cargoes  of  which  were 
shipped  thither.  At  Philadelphia  and  New  York  it  was 
not  permitted  to  be  landed,  at  Charleston  it  was  stored  in 
damp  cellars  where  it  perished,  and  in  Boston  harbor  it  was 
emptied  into  the  sea.  Had  England  then  receded,  she 
would  have  been  wise  and  magnanimous;  but,  listening 
only  to  the  language  of  passion,  she  hastened  to  vindicate 
the  outraged  dignity  of  Parliament  and  the  wounded  honor 
of  the  nation.  On  the  31st  of  March,  1774,  the  bill  was 
passed  "for  discontinuing  the  lading  or  unlading  goods, 
wares,  and  merchandises  at  Boston,  and  for  removing  the 
custom-house  from  thence  to  Salem,"  till  it  should  be  de 
clared  by  the  king  in  council  that  she  had  returned  to  obe 
dience,  and  compensation  was  made  for  the  tea  destroyed 
and  injury  done  to  private  property  when  it  arrived  in 
America.  Then  was  passed  the  bill,  assented  to  by  the 
king  10th  of  May,  which  subverted  the  charter  of  Massa 
chusetts,  giving  to  the  crown  the  appointment  of  members 
of  the  council,  and  of  judges,  magistrates,  and  sheriffs,  who 
were  authorized  to  summon  and  return  juries.  This  bill 
further  prohibited  the  selectmen  from  calling  public  meet 
ings  without  the  consent  of  the  Governor.  Then  it  was 
enacted  that  should  it  appear  to  the  Governor  that  any 
person  indicted  for  a  capital  offence,  the  act  so  charged 
being  done  in  suppressing  riots  and  tumults,  who  could  not 
probably  be  fairly  tried  in  Massachusetts  Bay,  might  be 
sent  to  Great  Britain,  or  any  other  colony,  for  trial.  These 
measures  of  vengeance  were  completed  by  the  bills  passed 
for  quartering  soldiers  on  the  inhabitants,  and  enlarging 
the  province  of  Canada,  and  changing  its  government,  by 
providing  that  a  council,  to  be  appointed  by  the  crown, 
should  exercise  all  legislative  power  except  that  of  taxation 
(Roman  Catholics  being  admissible),  and  by  securing  tithes 
to  their  priests,  establishing  their  religion,  besides  abolish 
ing  trial  by  jury. 

By   the   advocates,   in    the    British    Parliament,   of   the 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  85 

Boston  port-bill,  it  was  urged  th'at  Boston  was  selected  for 
punishment,  because  most  guilty.  For  seven  years  she  had 
been  the  originator  of  the  seditions  which,  during  that 
period,  had  disturbed  the  colonies.  She  would  suffer,  doubt 
less,  by  this  act,  but  she  deserved  such  and  greater  suffer 
ings,  as  a  great  delinquent,  and  could  at  any  time  terminate 
this  merited  punishment  by  reparations  to  those  she  had 
wronged,  and  return  to  obedience.  The  vigorous  assertion 
by  Britain  of  her  authority  over  her  colonies  was  necessary, 
for  otherwise  the  seditious  might  with  reason  conclude  it 
could  be  set  at  naught  with  impunity,  and  the  dependence 
of  the  colonies  would  cease  at  no  distant  time.  It  was 
alleged  that  to  fine  communities  for  neglecting  to  punish 
crimes  committed  within  their  jurisdiction,  \vas  just  in  itself, 
and  sustained  by  precedents. — that  of  the  city  of  London, 
fined  in  1640,  in  the  case  of  Dr.  Lamb,*  that  of  Edinburgh 
and  Captain  Porteous,  with  which  all  who  have  read  (and 
who  has  not?)  the  "Heart  of  Mid-Lothian"  are  familiar, 
and  that  of  Glasgow,  whose  revenues  were  in  part  seques 
tered,  to  indemnify  a  Mr.  Campbell  for  the  destruction  of 
his  house  by  a  mob.  The  act  would  require  no  great  force 
to  execute  it,  for  a  few  frigates  would  suffice.  The  colo 
nists  would  generally  approve  this  just  punishment,  or  be 
awed  by  it  to  submission;  should  they  not,  but,  on  the  con 
trary,  give  their  sympathy  and  their  aid  to  Boston,  they, 
and  not  the  ministry,  would  be  responsible  for  the  deplora 
ble  results. 

Petitions,  only  one  of  which  was  heard,  on  behalf  of  the 
Bostonians,  set  forth,  and  her  advocates  maintained,  that 
before  thev  were  condemned  it  was  an  undeniable  maxim 
of  justice  that  they  should  be  heard;  that  the  only  evidence 
against  them  was  the  report  of  the  Governor  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay,  their  prejudiced  and  partial  enemy;  that  the 
offence  charged  was  committed  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
Boston,  in  her  harbor,  which  was  under  the  control  of  the 
Governor,  and  that  in  the  precedents  cited,  the  cities  fined 
were  represented  in  Parliament,  heard  by  council,  and  their 

*  Dr.  Lamb,  patronized  by  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who,  like  other 
overgrown  favorites,  was  inclined  to  favor  astrology,  was,  in  1640, 
pulled  to  pieces  in  the  city  of  London  by  the  enraged  populace,  and  his 
maidservant  hanged,  thirteen  years  afterwards,  as  a  witch,  at  Salisbury. 
— ScoWs  Denwnoloyy  and  Witchcraft,  Letter  X. 


86  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

witnesses  admitted;  that  this  bill  went  far  beyond  these 
precedents,  which  inflicted  mulcts,  but  did  not  cruelly  stop 
the  trade  and  cut  off  the  livelihood  of  a  community;  that 
in  two  of  the  cases  cited,  atrocious  murder  had  been,  beyond 
doubt,  committed,  and  not  punished;  in  this,  disorders, 
which  could  not  be  denied,  were  provoked  by  arbitrary  and 
unconstitutional  acts  of  the  government,  which  could  not, 
perhaps,  have  been  successfully  resisted  without  them.  It 
was,  indeed,  a  paltry  way  of  handling  a  case  which  might 
involve  the  dismemberment  of  a  mighty  empire,  to  rest  it 
at  all  on  precedents  so  insignificant  as  these,  and  which  did 
not  sustain  it.  Why,  it  was  asked,  select  Boston  for  pun 
ishment,  other  cities  in  the  colonies  being  equally  guilty  ? 
For  the  tea  of  the  East  India  Company,  which  all  had  re 
fused  to  receive,  was  as  much  destroyed  in  the  damp  cellars 
of  Charleston  as  in  her  harbor,  and  when  reshipped  at  other 
ports,  deteriorated  greatly  by  the  return-voyage  to  England. 
Why  adopt  a  measure  which  would  starve  alike  the  inno 
cent  and  guilty  of  this  doomed  city?  If  any  measure  could 
induce  the  other  colonies  to  make  common  cause  with 
Massachusetts,  this  bill  would  do  so. 

The  Boston  port-bill,  which  received  the  royal  assent 
March  31st,  1774,  did  not  arrive  in  America  until  the  13th 
of  May,  and  intelligence  of  its  passage  preceded  its  arrival 
only  three  days.  It  was  justly  charged,  as  enhancing  its 
injustice  and  cruelty,  that,  going  into  operation  June  1st,  it 
really  did  not  give  time,  as  it  professed  to  do,  for  the  doomed 
city  to  make  her  peace,  if  so  disposed,  with  her  incensed 
sovereign.  On  the  same  day  arrived  in  Boston  harbor  four 
men-of-war  and  Governor  Hutchinson's  successor,  General 
Gage.  It  is  honorable  to  the  inhabitants  that  his  landing 
was  marked  by  no  outbreak  of  the  people,  but  his  reception 
was  respectful,  though  cordial  it  could  not  have  been. 
The  Boston  port-bill,  printed,  like  a  funeral  notice,  on  black- 
bordered  paper,  was  ha\vked  through  her  streets,  and  sent 
with  great  expedition  to  the  sister  colonies  of  Massachusetts. 
Instead  of  awing  to  submission,  it  awakened  the  most  lively 
indignation,  and  was  denounced  by  the  citizens  of  Boston, 
the  day  after  its  arrival,  in  tow7n  meeting,  as  "impolitic,  in 
human,  unjust,  and  cruel  beyond  their  power  of  expression," 
— with  a  solemn  appeal-  to  God  and  the  world,  and  the  re 
commendation  of  non-importation  and  exportation  agree- 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  ST 

merits  till  the  act  should  be  repealed,  "which,"  they  declared, 
"if  adopted  by  all  the  colonies,  would  prove  the  salvation 
of  North  America  and  her  liberties."  The  colonies,  with 
out  exception,  perceiving  that  this  act  was  intended  to  en 
force  obedience  to  the  right  claimed  of  taxing  them  without 
their  consent,  considered  it  as  aimed  at  them  all,  and  there 
fore  were  unanimous  in  denouncing  its  injustice  and  uncon- 
stitutionality  in  the  strongest  terms  of  abhorrence,  while 
they  admired  and  sympathized  with  those  who  were  to 
suffer  by  the  closing  of  their  harbor,  and  made  common 
cause  with  them.  The  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses  ap 
pointed  the  1st  of  June  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting 
and  prayer,  "that  the  calamities  of  civil  war  and  the  ruin 
of  their  rights  might  be  averted,  and  that  they  might  have 
granted  them  one  heart  and  mind  to  defend  them."  This 
was  so  observed,  not  only  in  Virginia,  but  generally  through 
the  other  colonies;  and  was,  as  anticipated  by  Mr.  Jefferson, 
who  suggested  it  for  this  purpose,  and,  I  fear,  for  none 
higher,*  a  most  effectual  means  of  warning  them  of  the 
danger  which  menaced  them  and  arousing  them  to  resist 
ance.  But  something  more  than  the  expression  of  indigna 
tion  and  sympathy  was  due  to  this  wronged  and  suffering 
city,  for  the  fire  must  go  out  on  the  hearth  of  every  poor 
man  there  on  the  first  of  June,  and  his  children,  as  they 

*  "Mr.  Henry  R.  H.  and  Frederick  L.  Lee,  myself,  and  three  or  four 
others, — the  lead  being  no  longer  in  the  old  members, — agreed  that  we 
must  take  a  bold  and  unequivocal  stand  in  the  line  of  Massachusetts. 
Convinced  of  the  necessity  of  arousing  the  people  from  their  lethargy 
as  to  passing  events,  we  thought  the  appointment  of  a  day  of  general 
fasting  and  prayer  would  be  most  likely  to  call  up  and  alarm  their  at 
tention.  There  was  no  example  of  such  solemnity  since  the  days  of 
our  distress  in  1755,  since  which  a  new  generation  had  grown  up.  With 
the  help  therefore  of  Rush  worth,  whom  we  rummaged  for  the  revolu 
tionary  precedents  and  forms  of  the  Puritans  of  that  day,  we  cooked 
up  a  resolution,  somewhat  modernizing  the  phrases,  for  appointing  the 
1st  of  June,  when  the  port-bill  was  to  commence,  for  a  day  of  fasting, 
humiliation,  and  prayer,  to  implore  Heaven  to  avert  from  us  the  evils 
of  civil  war,  to  inspire  us  with  firmness  in  support  of  our  rights,  and 
to  turn  the  king  and  Parliament  to  moderation  and  justice  To  give 
greater  emphasis  to  the  measure,  they  requested  Mr.  Nicholas,  whose 
grave  and  religious  character  was  more  in  unison  with  the  tone  of  our 
resolution,  to  move  it,  which  he  did,  and  it  passed  without  opposition. 
The  day  was  observed  throughout  Virginia,  and  the  effect  was  like  a 
shock  of  electricity,  arousing  every  man,  and  placing  him  erect  and 
solidly  on  his  centre." — Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  i.  pp.  6 
and  7. 


88  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

cowered  around  it,  cry  in  vain  to  him  for  bread,  and  the 
colonies,  without  exception,  I  believe,  sent  with  their  re 
solves,  lauding  the  patriotism  and  iinnness.of  Boston  in  their 
common  cause,  liberal  aid  to  her  starving  inhabitants.  Mr. 
Read's  part  in  the  measures  for  raising  and  transmitting 
such  aid  from  a  New  Castle  County  on  Delaware"  makes  it 
necessary  and  proper  for  me  to  insert  the  following  resolu 
tions,  adopted  at  a  general  meeting  of  the  freeholders  and 
inhabitants  of  that  county  on  the  29th  of  June,  1774,  of 
which  meeting  Thomas  McKean  was  chairman  : 

"1.  Resolved,  That  the  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up 
the  port  of  Boston  is  unconstitutional,  oppressive  to  the  in 
habitants  of  that  town,  dangerous  to  the  liberties  of  the 
British  colonies,  and  that  therefore  we  consider  our  brethren 
at  Boston  as  suffering  in  the  common  cause  of  America. 

U2.  That  a  congress  of  deputies  from  the  several  colonies 
in  North  America  is  the  most  probable  and  proper  mode  of 
procuring  relief  for  our  suffering  brethren,  obtaining  redress 
of  American  grievances,  securing  our  rights  and  liberties, 
and  re-establishing  peace  and  harmony  between  Great  Bri 
tain  and  these  colonies  on  a  constitutional  foundation. 

"3.  That  a  respectable  committee  be  immediately  ap 
pointed  for  the  county  of  New  Castle,  to  correspond  with 
the  sister  colonies,  and  with  the  other  counties  in  this 
government,  in  order  that  all  may  unite  in  promoting,  and 
endeavoring  to  obtain,  the  great  and  valuable  ends  men 
tioned  in  the  foregoing  resolution. 

"4.  That  the  most  eligible  way  of  appointing  deputies 
would  be  by  the  representatives  of  the  people  of  this  govern 
ment,  met  in  their  legislative  capacity,  but  as  the  House  of 
Assembly  have  adjourned  themselves  to  the  oOth  day  of 
September  next,  and  it  is  not  expected  his  Honor  the 
Governor  will  call  them  by  writs  of  summons  on  this  occa 
sion,  having  refused  to  do  the  like  in  his  other  province  of 
Pennsylvania,  therefore,  that  the  speaker  of  the  honorable 
House  of  Assembly  be  desired  by  the  committee  now  to  be 
appointed  to  write  to  the  several  members  of  Assembly,  re 
questing  them  to  convene  at  New  Castle  or.  any  day  not 
later  than  the  first  of  August  next,  to  take  into  their  most 
serious  consideration  our  alarming  situation,  and  to  appoint 
deputies  to  attend  at  a  general  congress  for  the  colonies,  at 
such  time  and  place  as  shall  be  generally  agreed  on. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  89 

"5.  That  the  committee,  now  to  be  chosen,  consist  of 
thirteen  persons,  to  wit,  Thomas  McKean,  John  Evans, 
John  McKinley,  James  Latimer,  George  Read,  Alexander 
Porter,  Samuel  Patterson.  Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  Thomas 
Cooch,  Job  Harvey,  George  Monroe,  Samuel  Platt,  and 
Richard  Cantwell,  and  that  any  seven  of  them  may  act. 

"6.  That  the  said  committee  immediately  set  on  foot  a 
subscription  for  the  relief  of  such  poor  inhabitants  of  the 
town  of  Boston  as  may  be  deprived  of  the  means  of  subsist 
ence  by  the  act  of  Parliament,  commonly  styled  the  Boston 
Port-Bill.  The  money  arising  from  such  subscription  to  be 
laid  out  as  the  committee  shall  think  will  best  answer  the 
end  proposed. 

"7.  That  the  inhabitants  of  this  county  will  adopt  and 
carry  into  execution  all  and  singular  such  peaceable  and 
constitutional  measures  as  shall  be  agreed  on  by  a  majority 
of  the  colonies,  by  their  deputies,  at  the  intended  congress, 
and  will  have  no  trade,  commerce,  or  dealings  whatsoever 
with  that  city,  province,  or  town  in  the  British  colonies  on 
this  continent  (if  any  such  should  be),  or  with  any  individual 
therein,  who  shall  refuse  to  adopt  the  same,  until  the  before- 
mentioned  act  of  Parliament,  and  two  other  bills  respecting 
the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  depending  in  Parliament 
(if  passed  into  acts),  are  repealed." 

The  following  is  the  earliest  of  the  letters  of  Caesar 
Rodney  to  my  grandfather  which  I  have  found  among  his 
papers.  It  communicates  the  success  of  his  efforts  for  the 
adoption  in  Kent  County  of  the  measures  recommended  by 
the  foregoing  resolutions,  and  of  his  further  efforts  to  have 
them  adopted  in  Sussex: 

"DOVER,  July  21st,  1774. 

"  SIR, — Yesterday  we  had  a  very  full  meeting  of  this 
county.  Upward  of  seven  hundred  inhabitants,  some  think 
more  than  eight  [were  present]  With  this  (agreeable  to 
promise)  I  have  sent  you  a  packet,  inclosing  a  letter  from  the 
committee  of  this  county  to  the  committee  of  yours,  as  also 
a  copy  of  our  resolves,  and  a  letter  to  Bradford,  the  printer, 
inclosing  another  copy  of  them  for  the  press,  which  I  hope 
you  will  forward  to  him  as  quick  as  possible.  Some  people 
were  much  displeased  with  your  having  appointed  New 
Castle  as  the  place  of  meeting,  and  it  was  not  without  some 

7 


90  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

difficulty  that  some  others  reconciled  the  people  to  the 
place.  More  of  this  another  time.  The  meeting  of  the 
people  of  Sussex  County  is  to  be  on  Saturday  next,  and 
there  is  a  report  prevails  here  that  they  are  so  offended 
at  your  fixing  the  mode  and  place,  but  more  especially  the 
place,  that  they  are  determined  not  to  fall  in  with  your 
plan,  but  that  the  people,  at  their  meeting,  shall  or  will 
choose  a  deputy  for  that  county.  However,  I  shall  despatch 
an  express  early  to-morrow  morning,  to  Thomas  Robinson, 
with  a  very  pressing  letter  from  the  committee  here,  to 
adopt  your  measures;  and  that,  if  they  do  not,  they  will 
defeat  the  whole  business.  The  express  will  have  orders 
to  be  there  before  ^the  meeting  of  the  people,  and  to  wait 
for  a  full  account  of  what  they  shall  do.  I  shall  write  a 
private  letter  to  Robinson,  enjoining  him  to  use  his  endeavor 
to  have  the  plan  of  the  other  two  counties  adopted.  I  have 
sent  circular  letters  to  all  the  members  of  your  county. 
You'll  be  pleased  to  have  them  delivered.  I  have  also  sent 
circular  letters  to  the  members  of  this  county,  who  desired 
me  to  inform  you  that  they  would  be  in  New  Castle,  ready 
to  enter  upon  business,  by  ten  o'clock,  on  the  first  of 
August,  and  hope  your  members  will  give  their  attendance 
by  that  time.  Further,  with  respect  [to]  Sussex,  I  have 
prevailed  on  Clarke  to  ride  to  Cropper's,  to  persuade  him  to 
use  his  interest  in  bringing  about  the  proposed  measures, 
and  also  have  got  Jacob  Stout  to  write  to  Wiltbank.  I  do 
most  sincerely  wish  the  worthy  members  of  Sussex  may  be 
prevailed  on  to  adopt  the  measures  proposed.  I  expect  to 
hear  from  them  by  Sunday  evening,  and,  if  I  find  it  will 
avail,  will  call  them  in  due  time  for  the  convention. 
"I  am  yours,  truly, 

"CJESAR  RODNEY. 
"To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  per  John  Bullon,  Express." 

Mr.  Rodney  was  too  wise  a  man,  and  too  zealous  in  the 
good  cause  of  the  colonies,  to  countenance  the  dissatisfaction 
of  the  freeholders  of  Kent  and  Sussex  with  the  fourth 
resolution  of  those  who  met  at  New  Castle,  because  they 
thought,  I  suppose,  it  fixed  the  mode,  time,  and  place  of 
choosing  deputies  to  the  proposed  general  congress  (which 
it  only  suggests  as  the  best),  and  which,  being  done  without 
their  having  a  voice  in  it,  was  arrogant  and  dictatorial.  As 


OF   GEOEGE    READ.  91 

the  Congress  was  to  meet  September  4th  then  next,  there 
was  no  time  for  consulting  these  over-sensitive  persons, — the 
Assembly  would  select  better  delegates  than  popular  meet 
ings  could  do.  New  Castle  was  the  place  of  meeting  of  the 
Assembly  of  the  province  theretofore  for  the  convenience  of 
the  Governors,  who  resided  in  Philadelphia,  and  though  a 
central  town  would  have  been  generally  more  convenient, 
yet  it  would  have  been  open  to  the  objection  of  being  an 
unusual  one.  The  praiseworthy  efforts  of  Mr.  Rodney  and 
others  overcame  the  opposition,  which  threatened  to  defeat 
this  measure.  He,  being  speaker  of  the  Assembly,  sum 
moned  the  members  of  that  body  to  meet  at  New  Castle 
August  1st,  1774.  They  met  accordingly,  and  chose  Csesar 
Rodney,  Thomas  McKean,  and  George  Read  delegates  to 
the  General  Congress,  which  met  in  Philadelphia  Septem 
ber  5th,  1774,  as  appears  by  their  credentials  produced  to 
this  body,  as  follows : 

"THE  THREE  COUNTIES  OF  NEW  CASTLE,  KENT.  AND  SUSSEX 

ON  DELAWARE. 

'^August  1st,  1774,  A.M. 

"The  representatives  of  the  freemen  of  the  government 
of  the  counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex  on  Dela 
ware,  met  at  New  Castle,  in  pursuance  of  a  circular  letter 
from  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  who  was  requested  to  write 
and  forward  the  same  to  the  members  of  Assembly  by  the 
committees  of  correspondence  for  the  several  counties  afore 
said,  chosen  and  appointed  for  that,  among  other  purposes, 
by  the  freemen  and  freeholders  of  the  said  counties  respect 
ively.  And  having  chosen  a  chairman,  and  read  the  resolves 
of  the  respective  counties,  and  sundry  letters  from  the  com 
mittees  of  correspondence  along  the  continent,  they  unani 
mously  entered  into  the  following  resolution,  viz. : 

"  We,  the  representatives  aforesaid,  by  virtue  of  the 
powrer  delegated  to  us,  as  aforesaid,  taking  into  our  most 
serious  consideration  the  several  acts  of  the  British  Parlia 
ment  for  restraining  manufactures  in  his  majesty's  colonies 
and  plantations  in  North  America;  for  taking  away  the 
property  of  the  colonists  without  their  participation  or  con 
sent;  for  the  introduction  of  the  arbitrary  powers  of  excise 
into  the  customs  here;  for  making  all  revenue  causes  tria 
ble  without  jury,  and  under  the  decision  of  a  single  judge; 


92  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

for  the  trial  in  England  of  persons  accused  of  capital  crimes 
committed  in  the  colonies;  for  the  shutting  up  of  the  port 
or  Boston;  for  new-modeling  the  government  of  Massachu 
setts  Bay,  and  the  operation  of  the  same  on  the  property, 
liberty,  and  lives  of  the  colonists;  and  also  considering  that 
[the]  most  eligible  mode  of  determining  upon  the  premises, 
and  of  endeavoring  to  procure  relief  and  redress  of  our 
grievances,  would  have  been  by  us  assembled  in  our  legisla 
tive  capacity,  but  as  the  House  had  adjourned  to  the  30th 
day  of  September  next,  and  it  is  not  to  be  expected  that 
his  Honor  the  Governor  will  call  us  by  writs  of  summons 
on  this  occasion,  having  refused  to  do  the  like  in  his  other 
province  of  Pennsylvania;  the  next  most  proper  method  of 
answering  the  expectations  and  desires  of  our  constituents, 
and  of  contributing  our  aid  to  the  general  cause  of  America, 
is  to  appoint  commissioners  or  deputies  in  behalf  of  the 
people  of  this  government,  to  meet  and  act  with  those  ap 
pointed  by  the  other  provinces  in  general  congress;  and 
we  therefore  do  unanimously  nominate  and  appoint  Caesar 
Rodney,  Thomas  McKean,  and  George  Read,  Esquires,  or 
any  two  of  them,  deputies,  on  the  part  and  behalf  of  this 
government,  in  a  general  Continental  Congress  proposed  to 
be  held,  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  on  the  first  Monday  in 
September  next,  or  at  any  other  time  and  place  that  may 
be  generally  agreed  on,  then  and  there  to  consult  and  advise 
with  the  deputies  from  the  other  colonies,  and  to  determine 
upon  all  such  prudent  and  lawful  measures  as  may  be  judged 
most  expedient  for  the  colonies  immediately  and  unitedly 
to  adopt,  in  order  to  obtain  relief  for  an  oppressed  people 
and  the  redress  of  our  general  grievances. 

"  Signed  by  order  of  the  convention, 

" CAESAR  RODNEY,  Chairman."* 

Mr.  Read  represented  the  State  of  Delaware  in  Congress 
during  the  most  interesting  period  of  the  Revolutionary  war, 
excepting  a  short  interval,  when,  by  virtue  of  his  office  as 
Vice-President  of  Delaware,  lie  acted  as  her  chief  magis 
trate,  in  consequence  of  the  capture  of  President  McKinley, 
immediately  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine. 

*  Journals  of  Congress  from  1774  to  1776,  vol.  i.pp.  8,  9.  (Published 
in  Philadelphia,  1800.) 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  93 

* 

The  Congress  of   1774 — no  one  of  the  colonies  bein^r 

O  O 

unrepresented  but  Georgia — commenced  its  session  Sep 
tember  5th,  at  Carpenter's  Hall,  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia. 
Peyton  Randolph  was  chosen  President.  They  determined 
that  each  colony  should  have  one  vote,  and  their  proceed 
ings  should  be  secret  till  a  majority  should  authorize  their 
publication.  Without  questioning  the  propriety  of  this  re 
solve  to  sit  with  closed  doors,  we  may  be  pardoned  in 
regretting  that  by  reason  of  it  the  debates  of  this  august 
assembly  are  lost  to  history.  The  delegates  were  chosen 
generally  by  the  colonial  assemblies,  the  exceptions  being 
New  Jersey  and  Maryland,  where  they  were  appointed  by 
county  committees  chosen  to  do  so,  and  New  York,  where 
they  were  elected  directly  by  the  people.  Their  instructions 
generally  authorized  them  to  consult  on  the  best  measures 
for  the  redress  of  grievances,  the  ascertainment  and  security 
of  colonial  rights  and  restoration  of  harmony,  but  some  of 
the  colonies  restricted  their  deputies  to  measures  that  would 
bear  on  their  commercial  relations  to  Great  Britain,  while 
others  gave  them  unlimited  discretion.*  This  Congress  lost 
no  time,  but  entered  at  once  upon  the  discharge  of  their 
high  duties.f  All  eyes,  from  New  Hampshire  to  Georgia, 


*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  168. 

f  I  subjoin  the  following  notices  of  members  of  this  Congress  and 
their  opinions: 

"I  dined  September  12th  [1774],"  wrote  John  Adams  in  his 
"  Diary,"  vol.  ii.  of  his  Writings  (p.  879),  "  with  John  Dickinson,  at  his 
seat  near  Philadelphia  (Fair  Hill),  with  fine  gardens,  and  a  beautiful 
view  of  the  city,  the  Delaware  River,  and  country  A  good  library, — 
the  books  principally  collected  by  his  wife's  father,  Mr.  Norris.  Mr. 
Dickinson,  very  modest,  ingenuous,  agreeable,  with  an  excellent  heart, 
and  the  cause  of  his  country  near  it.  Full  and  clear  for  allowing  Par 
liament  the  right  to  regulate  American  trade  upon  principles  of  neces 
sity  and  mutual  interest.  Gadsden  violently  denies  this,  saying,  power 
to  regulate  is  power  to  ruin  trade,  and  that  admitting  power  to  regulate 
trade  is  tantamount  to  admitting  universal  power  [i.e.  right]  to  legis 
late,  [inasmuch]  as  a  right  in  one  case  is  a  right  in  all.  Galloway 
proposed  a  plan  of  union  between  Great  Britain  and  her  American  colo 
nies,  [providing]  for  a  British-American  legislature,  and  that  no  act 
should  be  passed  [affecting  them]  without  the  assent  of  both.  Duane 
approved,  also  Jay  and  Rutledge,  [but]  Henry  opposed  it.  Galloway 
accepted  a  seat  in  Congress — having  extensive  interest  on  the  popular 
side,  but  [being]  at  heart  disaffected — to  sit  in  the  skirts  of  American 
advocates,  that  is,  embarrass  and  defeat  their  measures.  At  first,  five 
colonies  Were  for  the  power  of  Parliament  to  regulate  trade  and  five 


94  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

were  fixed  on  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Read  wrote  from  time  to 
time,  during  the  session,  which  terminated  October  26th, 
to  Mrs.  Read,  and  some  of  these  letters  I  insert,  with  ex 
tracts  from  others  of  them.  They  were  presented  to  me, 
with  those  inserted  post  (in  all  thirteen),  in  July,  1839,  by 
Mrs.  Anna  G.  McLane,  second  wife  of  Dr.  Allen  McLane, 
of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  who  received  them  through  her 
mother,  the  wife  of  Matthew  Pierce,  of  Poplar-Neck,  Cecil 
County,  Maryland,  and  only  daughter  of  George  Read. 

Soon  after  the  session  of  Congress  commenced,  he  writes : 
"The  day  is  consumed  in  this  way, — shaving,  washing, 
breakfasting,  waiting  an  hour  for  the  barber's  coming,  near 
half  an  hour  under  his  hands,  hurrying  to  the  Congress, 
sitting  there  till  three  o'clock,  then  hastening  to  dine, — on 
invitation,  waiting  an  hour  before  dinner  appears,  and  walk 
ing  quickly  home  to  avoid  the  night-air.  Not  a  moment  to 
spare  is  disagreeable,  yet  there  is  very  little  in  all  this  bus 
tle.  We  are  wide  of  our  business.  I  dine  to-day  at  Gur- 
ney's,  where  I  expect  to  meet  Mr.  Biddle,  to-morrow  at  Mr. 
Dickinson's  a  second  time,  and  Wednesday  at  Mr.  Richard 
Penn's.  This  is  tiresome  duty." 

On  Sunday,  September  18th,  my  birthday,  he  writes:  "I 

against,  and  two  divided,  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island.  Duane 
grounds  it  on  compact,  acquiescence,  necessity,  and  protection,  [and] 
not  merely  on  consent.  Lee,  Henry,  and  Hooper  are  orators.  Chase 
is  violent,  boisterous,  and  tedious  on  frivolous  topics;  so  E.  Rutledge, 
and  uncouth  and  ungraceful,  and  so  his  brother  John.  Dyer,  long- 
winded,  roundabout,  cloudy  and  obscure,  but  honest  and  worthy,  means 
well,  and  judges  well.  Sherman,  ungraceful  (but  with  a  clear  head  and 
sound  judgment),  generally  stands  with  his  hands  before  him,  the  fingers 
of  his  left  hand  clinched  into  a  fist,  and  the  wrist  of  it  grasped  by  the 
right, — Hogarth  could  not  have  invented  a  position  more  opposite  to 
grace.  Dickinson's  air,  gait,  and  action  are  not  much  more  elegant."— 
Writings  of  John  Adams,  vol.  ii.  (Diary)  pp.  387,  379,  397,  393,  423. 
"The  two  great  points  labored  were  first,  whether  we  should  base 
our  rights  upon  the  law  of  nature  as  well  as  the  British  constitution 
and  colonial  charters,  or 'exclude  the  first.  Galloway  and  Duane  for  so 
doing,  John  Adams  contra,  [maintaining]  it  to  be  a  resource  to  which 
Parliament  might  drive  the  colonies  ;  second,  what  authority  should  be 
allowed  Parliament,  whether  [admit]  any  control  over  internal  affairs, 
or  deny  it  in  all  cases;  whether  it  be  allowed  to  regulate  trade,  and,  if 
so,  with  or  without  restrictions  [It  was]  agreed,  after  much  discus 
sion,  to  admit  the  power  to  regulate  trade  from  the  necessity  of  the 
case,  but  excluding  all  right  of  taxation,  internal  or  external." — Ibid., 
374,  539. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  95 

flatter  myself  that  I  am  rid  of  my  intermittent,  though  I 
had  a  slight  fit  on  Thursday  last,  the  day  I  wrote  by  Captain 
Young,  since  which  I  have  taken  fourteen  doses  of  bark.  I 
shall  take  a  short  ride  on  horseback  this  morning.  ...  I 
long  to  be  with  you,  but  dare  not  hint  a  time  lest  I  could 
not  keep  it,  but  you  may  be  assured,  if  I  can  discover  a  few 
days  that  I  can  with  propriety  be  absent,  I  will  seize  the 
opportunity.  If  I  had  been  able  to  have  travelled  through 
yesterday,  I  should  have  blamed  myself  for  being  absent, 
as  two  matters  were  debated  which  I  would  have  chosen  to 
appear  in, — to  wit,  a  resolve  of  approbation  of  the  conduct 
of  the  people  of  Boston  and  county  of  Suffolk,  which  in 
cludes  Boston,*  since  the  operation  of  the  port-bill ;  and 


*  Pitkin's  Civil  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  283  ;  Marshall's 
Life  of  Washington,  Appendix  xii.,  pp.  45,  47,  Journal,  19,  20,  14. 

The  resolves  of  the  people  of  Suffolk  are  suitable  to  the  crisis ;  but 
their  preamble,  I  think,  is  not,  as  a  composition,  equal  to  other  Revolu 
tionary  state-papers.  Its  tone  is  too  angry  to  be  dignified,  and  its  style 
diffuse,  and  somewhat  grandiloquent.  Under  the  pressure,  as  the 
author  was  in  common  with  his  fellow-citizens,  of  the  port-bill,  he  may 
be  pardoned  for  the  indignation  he  manifests,  and  for  thinking  little  or, 
perhaps,  not  at  all  of  his  style.  Great  had  been  the  sufferings  of  Bos 
ton,  notwithstanding  the  aid  afforded  her,  which  was  not  stinted.  The 
troops  commanded  by  General  Gage  were  reinforced  gradually  by  regi 
ments  from  Ireland,  and  the  whole  encamped  on  Boston  Common.  Re 
ports,  unfounded  however,  that  it  was  contemplated  to  starve  the  city 
into  submission  by  cutting  it  off  from  communicating  with  the  adjacent 
country,  caused  a  rising  in  arms  to  prevent  it.  The  new  judges  were 
not  permitted  to  hold  courts,  and  the  new  counsellors  forced  most  of 
them  to  resign.  Upon  the  fortification  of  Boston  neck  by  General  Gage, 
the  extreme  measure  of  burning  the  town  was  suggested,  and  the  Con 
tinental  Congress  was  consulted  upon  the  proposition  to  remove  the 
inhabitants  to  the  neighborhood  of  that  city,  but,  declining  to  decide 
upon  it,  they  referred  it  to  the  Massachusetts  congress,  declaring  that  if 
executed  it  ought  to  be  at  the  expense  of  all  the  colonies.  General 
Gage  took  possession  of  military  stores  at  Cambridge  and  Charleston, 
and  the  colonists  seized  powder  in  New  Hampshire  and  Rhode  Island. 
Disregarding  the  writs  of  the  Governor  for  the  election  of  members  of 
Assembly,  the  freeholders  of  Massachusetts  elected  them  on  their  own 
authority,  and  as  a  provincial  congress  they  assembled  and  acted,  all  their 
acts  being  recognized  as  lawful,  and  receiving  prompt  obedience.  Such 
was  the  state  of  affairs  when  the  Suffolk  resolutions  were  sent  to  Con 
gress.  To  the  letter  of  that  body  expressing  their  concern  at  his  hostile 
acts,  and  cautioning  against  persistence  in  them,  General  Gage  replied 
that  under  great  provocations  great  care  had  been  taken  by  his  officers 
and  soldiers  to  avoid  offence,  and  that  the  communication  between  Bos 
ton  and  the  country  was  and  had  ever  been  open  and  unobstructed, 


96  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

another  resolve  for  a  further  contribution  from  all  the  colo 
nies  for  the  support  of  the  poor  of  Boston,  both  of  which 
will  be  published  to-morrow.  These  were  suddenly  done 
in  consequence  of  an  application  from  Boston  to  the  Con 
gress  for  their  advice  upon  the  late  measures  of  General 
Gage,  in  fortifying  the  neck  of  land  that  leads  into  Boston. 
John  Penn  made,  and  Richard  Penn  accepted,  the  offer  of 
the  naval  office  on  the  day  of  Hackley's  death." 

The  next  of  these  letters  is  dated  16th  October,  1774: 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  It  is  now  brought  to  Sunday  morning 

again,  and  no  certainty  yet  of  the  time  I  am  to  return  to 
you.  The  Virginians  give  out  they  will  go  off  this  day 
week,  but  I  doubt  the  business  before  us  will  not  be  in  that 
state  it  ought  by  that  time.  Mrs.  Biddle  left  us  on  Friday, 
and  that  evening  her  husband  was  made  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Assembly  of  this  province.  I  have  not  seen  him 
since.  I  am  told  the  chair  went  a  begging.  Galloway  was 
named  twice  or  thrice  to  it,  John  Morton,  of  Chester  County, 
once,  and  Mr.  Dickinson  once.  Galloway  and  Dickinson 
excused  themselves  for  want  of  health,  and  unexpectedly  a 
member  for  Northampton  County  got  up,  and  prefaced 
his  motion  very  well,  it  is  said,  taking  nolice  of  the  diffi 
culties  the  House  was  under,  and  said  he  had  a  person  in 
his  eye  who  had  both  health  and  abilities  equal  to  the 
service,  and  as  soon  as  he  named  Mr.  Biddle  the  House  was 
in  an  uproar,  refused  to  hear  any  apology  from  him,  and  as 
many  as  could  lay  hold  of  him  did,  and  forced  him  into  the 
chair  on  a  unanimous  vote.  Though  I  am  pleased  with  the 
distinction  that  is  paid  him,  I  am  afraid  it  will  be  prejudi 
cial  to  his  interest.  I  dined  at  the  Governor's  yesterday 
very  agreeably;  the  set  were  Mrs.  Elliott  from  New  York, 
Mr.  Gibson  and  his  wife,  Miss  Oswald,  John  Wilcocks,  and 
myself;  and  last  night  I  went  to  club  with  Mr.  Hamilton, 
whom  I  met  with  at  the  coffee-house,  but  our  company  there 
was  not  so  sprightly.  I  am  told  there  are  letters  in  town 
from  Boston,  mentioning  General  Gage's  declining  state  of 

expressing  in  conclusion  his  hope  that,  to  the  disappointment  of  their 
common  enemies,  the  disputes  between  the  Americans  and  Great 
Britain  might,  like  the  quarrels  of  lovers,  end  in  the  increased  affections 
of  both. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  97 

health,  supposed  to  be  owing  to  uneasiness  of  mind,  and 
that  he  is  now  actually  confined  to  his  bed.  Most  persons 
who  wish  for  peace  wish  his  recovery.  It  is  also  said  that 
there  are  some  letters  in  a  late  vessel  from  Liverpool  men 
tioning  that  the  American  cause  is  gaining  ground  in  Eng 
land,  and  that  Hutchinson  and  Barnard  will  be  made  the 
scape-goats  by  the  ministry.  I  hear  of  numbers  of  persons 
having  intermittents,  so  that  the  Philadelphians  must  leave 
boasting  of  the  healthiness  of  their  town.  Mr.  Paca,  of 
Annapolis,  was  seized  with  it  yesterday,  James  Allen  has  it, 
and  others  I  do  not  now  recollect.  I  have  felt  nothing  of 
it  since  you  left  me.  Eating  and  drinking  distress  me  most ; 
however,  I  was  moderate  yesterday;  the  ladies  were  the 
means  of  it,  in  some  measure,  and  the  wine  at  the  tavern 
at  night  was  bad.  All  are  well  at  James  Read's,  and  send 
their  love  to  you.  I  yesterday  delivered  my  resignation,  in 
writing,  of  the  Attorney-General's  office  to  the  Governor, 
when  he  told  me  he  would  order  a  commission  to  be  made 
out  for  Jacob  Moore,  as  Mr.  Rodney  had  strongly  recom 
mended  him.  Mr.  McPherson  came  to  me  on  Thursday 
and  asked  me  to  go  with  him  to  the  Governor,  but  I  was 
obliged  to  decline  it,  as  Moore  was  the  person  I  had  in  view 
to  succeed  me,  though  I  have  a  very  favorable  opinion  of 
McPherson.  Moore  very  luckily  carne  to  town  on  Wednes 
day  last.  He  and  his  wife  lodge  at  Mrs.  Vining's.  I  do 
not  know  when  they  will  be  down. 

a  The  Governor  goes  to  Chester  Wednesday  afternoon,  and 
to  your  town  next  day.  We  propose  to  get  Mr.  Rodney  down. 
"  Yours,  most  affectionately, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"16th  October,  1774." 

Two  days  before  the  adjournment  of  Congress,  Mr.  Read 
writes  thus: 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  I  am  still  uncertain  as  to  the  time  of 

my  return  home.  As  I  expected,  the  New  England  men 
declined  doing  any  business  on  Sunday,  and  though  we  sat 
until  four  o'clock  this  afternoon,  I  am  well  persuaded  that 
our  business  can  by  no  means  be  left  till  Wednesday  even 
ing,  and  even  then  very  doubtful,  so  that  I  have  no  pros 
pect  of  being  with  you  till  Thursday  evening.  Five  of  the 
Virginia  gentlemen  are  gone.  The  two  remaining  ones 


98  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

have  power  to  act  in  their  stead.  The  two  objects  before 
us,  and  which  we  expect  to  go  through  to-morrow,  are  an 
address  to  the  king,  and  one  to  the  people  of  Canada.  This 
last  was  recommitted  this  evening  in  order  to  be  remodelled. 
Your  brother  George*  came  to  Congress  this  afternoon.  All 
your  friends  are  well.  No  news  but  the  burning  of  the 
vessel  and  tea  at  Annapolis,f  which  I  take  for  granted  you 
will  have  heard  before  this  comes  to  hand.  We  are  all  well 
at  my  lodgings,  and  send  their  love  to  you. 

"I  am  yours,  very  affectionately, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"Monday  evening,  ten  o'clock,  24th  October,  1774." 

The  Congress  of  1774  having  adopted  a  petition  to  the 
king,  and  addresses  to  the  people  of  Great  Britain,  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Quebec,  and  to  the  colonies 
represented  in  the  Congress,  dissolved  itself,  recommending 
that  another  Congress  should  be  held  in  Philadelphia  on 
the  10th  day  of  May,  1775.  These  state-papers  are  char 
acterized  by  perspicuity,  cogency  of  argument,  moderation, 

*  George  Ross,  a  delegate  from  Pennsylvania. 

f  "  When  the  brig  Peggy  Stewart  imported  into  Annapolis  a  quantity 
of  tea  (an  article  forbidden  by  the  delegates  of  Maryland,  June  22d, 
1774),  the  irritated  populace,  then  collected  from  the  neighboring  coun 
ties  at  the  provincial  court,  threatened  personal  violence  to  the  master 
and  consignees  of  the  vessel,  as  well  as  destruction  to  the  cargo.  The 
committee  of  delegates  immediately  met  and  appointed  a  sub-committee 
to  superintend  the  unloading  of  the  vessel,  and  to  see  that  the  pro 
hibited  article  was  not  landed.  Still  the  excitement  of  the  popular 
feeling  continued  unabated,  and  the  friends  of  Mr.  Anthony  Stewart, 
the  owner  of  the  vessel,  applied  to  Mr.  Carroll,  as  one  most  able  to  pro 
tect  him  from  violence.  His  advice  was  concise  and  determined  : — '  It 
will  not  do  to  export  the  tea  to  Europe  or  the  West  Indies.  Its  impor 
tation,  contrary  to  the  known  regulations  of  the  convention,  is  an  offence 
for  which  the  people  will  not  be  easily  satisfied,  and  whatever  be  my 
personal  esteem  for  Mr.  Stewart  and  wish  to  prevent  violence,  it  will 
not  be  in  my  power  to  protect  him,  unless  he  consents  to  pursue  a  more 
decisive  course  of  conduct.  My  advice  is  that  he  set  fire  to  the  vessel, 
and  burn  her,  together  with  the  tea  she  contains,  to  the  water's  edge.' 
The  applicants  paused  for  a  moment,  but  they  saw  no  alternative,  and 
Stewart,  appearing  immediately  before  the  committee,  offered  to  do 
what  Mr.  Carroll  proposed.  In  a  few  hours  after,  the  brigautine  Peggy 
Stewart,  with  her  sails  set  and  her  colors  flying,  was  enveloped  in 
flames,  and  the  immense  crowd,  assembled  on  the  shore,  acknowledged 
the  sufficiency  of  the  satisfaction." — Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the 
Declaration  of  Impendence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  159,  160. 


OF  GEORGE   READ  99 

and  dignity.  The  members  of  this  body,  for  themselves 
and  their  constituents,  signed  non-importation  and  non-ex 
portation  agreements,  the  latter  to  take  effect  after  Septem 
ber,  1775,  should  the  obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament  not  be 
repealed  in  the  mean  time.  The  major  part  of  this  Congress 
were  confident  that  these  measures  would  be  successful,  but 
some  doubted,  while  a  few  were  of  opinion  that  they  would 
be  ineffective.* 

The  colonies,  while  anxiously  awaiting  intelligence  of  the 
effect  of  their  proceedings  in  England,  with  wonderful 
unanimity  approved  and  executed  the  recommendations  of 
Congress.  The  suspension  of  labor  and  of  business,  which 

*  "When  Congress  had  finished  their  business,  as  they  thought,  in 
the  autumn  of  1774,  I  had  with  Mr.  Henry,  before  we  took  leave  of  each 
other,  some  familiar  conversation,  in  which  I  expressed  a  full  conviction 
that  our  resolves,  declarations  of  rights,  enumeration  of  wrongs,  peti 
tions,  remonstrances,  and  addresses,  associations,  and  non-importation 
agreements,  however  they  mijiht  be  expected  in  America,  and  however 
necessary  to  cement  the  union  of  the  colonies,  would  be  but  waste 
paper  in  England.  Mr.  Henry  said  they  might  make  some  impression 
among  the  people  of  England,  but  agreed  with  me  that  they  would  be 
totally  lost  upon  the  government.  1  had  just  received  a  short  and 
hasty  letter,  written  to  me  by  Major  Joseph  Hanley,  of  Northampton, 
containing  '  a  few  broken  hints,'  as  he  called  them,  of  what  he  thought 
proper  to  be  done,  and  concluding  with  these  words, — '  After  all,  we 
must  fiyht.'  This  letter  I  read  to  Mr.  Henry,  who  listened  with  great 
attention,  and  as  I  pronounced  the  words  'after  all,  we  must  fight,'  he 
raised  his  head,  and  with  an  energy  and  vehemence  I  never  can  forget, 

broke  out  wit  h,  ''By ,  7am  of  that  man's  mind!1  I  put  the  letter  into 

his  hand,  and  when  he  had  read  it,  he  returned  it  to  me,  with  an  equally 
solemn  asseveration  that  he  agreed  entirely  in  opinion  with  the  writer. 
I  considered  this  as  a  sacred  oath  upon  a  very  great  occasion,  and  could 
have  sworn  it  as  religiously  as  he  did,  and  by  no  means  inconsistent 
with  what  you  say,  in  some  part  of  your  book,  that  he  never  took  the 
sacred  name  in  vain.  The  other  delegates  from  Virginia  returned  to 
their  State  in  full  confidence  that  all  our  grievances  would  be  redressed. 
The  last  words  that  Mr.  Richard  Henry  Lee  said  to  me,  when  we 
parted,  were, '  We  shall  infallibly  carry  all  our  points;  you  will  be  com 
pletely  relieved ;  all  the  obnoxious  acts  will  be  repealed ;  the  army  and 
fleet  will  be  recalled,  and  Britain  will  give  up  her  foolish  project.' 
Washington  only  was  in  doubt.  He  never  spoke  in  public.  In  private 
he  joined  with  those  who  advocated  a  non-exportation  as  well  as  non 
importation  agreement.  With  both  he  thought  we  should  prevail, 
without  either  he  thought  it  doubtful.  Henry  was  clear  in  one  opinion, 
Kichard  Henry  Lee  in  an  opposite  opinion,  Washington  doubted  between 
the  two.  Henry,  however,  appeared  in  the  end  to  be  exactly  right." — 
Letter  of  John  Adams,  Niles's  Register,  vol.  xiv.  p.  258;  No.  xvi.  July 
13th,  1818. 


100  LIFE   AND    COREESPONDENCE 

was  consequent,  caused  wide-spread  distress,  and  while 
some  were  in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  others  suffered 
not  a  little  from  loss  of  its  luxuries  which  habit  had  made 
essential  to  their  comfort.  Not  alone  the  rich  responded 
to  appeals  to  their  generosity  in  behalf  of  their  poorer 
brethren,  but  all  who  had  aught  beyond  their  own  necessary 
expenses.  The  colonists  were  informed,  by  every  means 
of  addressing  them,  of  the  grounds  of  the  controversy  with 
the  parent  state,  and  incited  by  constant  appeals  to  the 
noblest  principles  of  man's  nature  to  resist  all  attempts  to 
crush  their  liberty;  though  hopeful  of  redress  of  all  their 
grievances,  they  were  preparing  for  the  worst,  by  military 
training,  by  manufacturing  gunpowder,  and  procuring,  when 
ever  they  could  do  so,  arms  and  military  stores.  This  mar 
vellous  change  in  the  habits  of  three  millions  of  people  was 
wrought  by  their  love  of  liberty,  which  was  enthusiastic. 

The  committee  appointed  to  receive  donations  from  the 
people  of  New  Castle  County  for  the  sufferers  under  the 
Boston  port-bill,  remitted  for  their  benefit  nine  hundred 
dollars,  which  occasioned  the  following  correspondence: 


CASTLE,  February  6th,  1775. 

"S]R,  —  I  take  the  liberty  to  address  this  to  you,  as  you 
have  subscribed  a  letter  per  order  of  this  committee  of 
donations,  now  before  me,  dated  the  25th  of  August  last, 
and  directed  to  the  committee  of  correspondence  of  the 
county  of  New  Castle,  arid  I  am  to  inform  you  that  Nicho 
las  Van  Dyke  and  myself  were  appointed  to  receive  the 
donations  of  the  people  of  this  county  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  of  Boston,  and  that  we  have  now  in  our  hands  upwards 
of  nine  hundred  dollars,  which  we  have  endeavored  to  re 
mit  to  you  by  way  of  bills  to  be  drawn  by  mercantile  per 
sons  in  Philadelphia,  who  transact  business  with  your 
colonists,  and  were  safe  hands;  but  upon  a  strict  inquiry 
we  can  find  none  amongst  them  willing  to  draw  any  bills 
for  some  time  to  come,  lest  they  should  distress  their  corre 
spondents  by  drafts  too  early  for  the  season  of  business. 
Upon  this  disappointment  we  had  thoughts  of  purchasing 
English  bills,  but  upon  reflection  doubted  whether  you 
might  not  be  losers  by  the  exchange;  therefore,  I  must 
request  the  advice  and  direction  of  your  committees  as  to  the 
most  speedy  and  acceptable  mode  of  remittance.  Perhaps 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  101 

some  amongst  your  townsmen  may  with  convenience  give 
orders  to  their  correspondents  at  Philadelphia  to  draw  for 
the  amount  of  our  small  sum,  which  it  is  hoped  will  not 
come  to  you  out  of  season,  though  late.  You  may  be 
assured  that  it  is  from  a  people  who  sincerely  sympathize 
with  you  in  your  distresses,  and  are  anxious  for  your  relief. 
Please  to  present  my  compliments  to  Messrs.  Gushing, 
Adamses,  and  Pain,  and  I  arn,  with  esteem,  your  most  obe 
dient  and  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"  Mr.  DAVID  JEFFRIES." 

"BOSTON,  February  24th,  1775. 

"SiR, — By  your  letter  of  the  6th  instant,  directed  to  Mr. 
David  Jeffries,  the  committee  of  this  town  appointed  to  re 
ceive  and  distribute  the  donations  made  for  the  employment 
and  relief  of  the  sufferers  by  the  Boston  port-bill,  are  in 
formed  that  a  very  generous  collection  has  been  made  by 
the  inhabitants  of  the  county  of  New  Castle  on  Delaware, 
and  that  there  is  in  your  hands  upwards  of  nine  hundred 
dollars  for  that  charitable  purpose.  The  care  you  have 
taken  with  our  worthy  friend  Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  Esquire, 
in  receiving  these  contributions,  and  your  joint  endeavors 
to  have  them  remitted  in  the  safest  and  most  easy  manner, 
is  gratefully  acknowledged  by  our  committee,  and  they 
have  directed  me  to  request  that  you  would  return  their 
sincere  thanks  to  the  people  of  New  Castle  County  for  their 
great  liberality  towards  their  fellow-subjects  in  this  place, 
who  are  still  suffering  under  the  hand  of  oppression  and 
tyranny.  It  will,  I  dare  say,  afford  you  abundant  satisfac 
tion  to  be  informed  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  town,  with 
the  exception  only  of  a  contemptible  few,  appear  to  be  ani 
mated  with  an  inextinguishable  love  of  liberty.  Having 
the  approbation  of  all  the  sister  colonies,  and  being  thus  sup 
ported  by  their  generous  benefactors,  they  endure  the  most 
severe  trials  with  a  manly  fortitude,  which  disappoints  and 
perplexes  our  common  enemies.  While  a  great  continent 
is  thus  anxious  for  them,  and  continually  administering  to 
their  relief,  they  can  even  smile  with  contempt  on  the  fee 
ble  efforts  of  the  British  administration  to  force  them  to 
submit  to  tyranny  by  depriving  them  of  their  usual  means 
of  subsistence.  The  people  ol  this  province  behold  with 


102  LIFE   AND    COERESPONDENCE 

indignation  a  lawless  army  posted  in  its  capital,  with  a 
professed  design  to  overturn  their  free  constitution.  They 
restrain  their  just  resentment,  in  hopes  that  the  most  happy 
effects  will  flow  from  the  united  applications  of  the  colonies 
for  their  relief.  May  Heaven  grant  that  the  councils  of  our 
sovereign  mny  be  guided  by  wisdom,  that  the  liberties  of 
America  may  be  established,  and  harmony  restored  between 
the  subjects  in  Britain  and  the  colonies! 

"I  am,  sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  fellow-countryman, 

"SAMUEL  ADAMS. 

"P.S. — The  committee  have  the  prospect  of  negotiating 
this  matter  with  some  friends  in  Philadelphia. 

;- GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

It  appears  by  the  receipt  of  Samuel  Adams,  chairman  of 
the  Boston  committee  of  donations,  that  the  sum  of  three 
hundred  and  seventy-five  pounds,  Pennsylvania  currency,— 
being  one  thousand  dollars  at  seven  shillings  and  sixpence 
each, — was  received  by  him  from  Mr.  Read,  llth  May, 
1775;  and  the  additional  sum  of  one  hundred  pounds  was 
subsequently  received  by  the  New  Castle  County  committee, 
as  further  appears  by  the  following  letter  and  receipt,  and 

was  no  doubt  remitted  to  Boston : 

«• 

"SiR, — I  received  yours,  attended  by  fifty  pounds,  part 
of  the  Boston  subscription,  by  Mr.  Tatlow,  but  have  heard 
nothing  from  Mr.  Tybout,  though  I  sent  your  letter  the  day 
after  I  came  up. 

"  It  is  said  an  express  came  to  town  last  evening  with  an 
account  that  some  Connecticut  volunteers,  under  the  com 
mand  of  a  Captain  Arnold,  had  taken  possession  of  the  fort 
at  Ticonderoga,  or  Crown  Point,  in  which  there  are  near 
two  hundred  cannon,  etc.;  this,  to  prevent  the  Canadians 
marching  down  into  the  New  England  colonies.  Upon  the 
payment  of  the  one  thousand  dollars  to  Mr.  Samuel  Adams, 
as  chairman  of  the  committee  of  donations  at  Boston,  he 
desired  that  I  should,  in  the  name  of  that  committee,  give 
thanks  to  the  contributors. 

"In  haste,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"18th  May,  1775.* 

*  This  letter  was  kindly  sent  to  me,  27th  January,  1865,  by  a  lady,' 
a  descendant  of  Governor  Van  Dyke,  who  found  it  among  his  papers, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.         •  103 

"  We  know  not  how  long  we  may  stay  here.  All  secret 
as  before. 

"Received,  this  17th  July,  1775,  of  Nicholas  Van  Dyke, 
Esquire,  fifty  pounds,  for  so  much  of  the  donations  of  the 
inhabitants  of  New  Castle  County  towards  the  relief  of  the 
poor  of  Boston. 

"  £50.00.  GEORGE  READ." 

On  the  30th  of  September,  1774,  by  proclamation,  the 
British  Parliament,  after  an  existence  of  six  and  a  half 
years,  was  dissolved,  and  a  new  one  summoned  by  writs 
returnable  November  9th.  The  majority  of  the  people, 
coinciding  with  the  ministry  in  their  policy  towards  America, 
were  certain  almost  to  elect  a  Parliament  favorable  to 
measures  of  coercion ;  the  ministers,  therefore,  did  not  risk 
office  by  this  appeal  to  the  nation,  while  the  result  they 
anticipated  would  much  strengthen  them.  The  new  Parlia 
ment  met  November  30th.  In  the  House  of  Commons 
were  members  of  great  ability,  knowledge,  and  experience, 
and  some  of  transcendent  genius  and  oratorical  powers. 
While  Chatham,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  was  closing  his 
brilliant  career  by  efforts  of  his  matchless  oratory  in  behalf 
of  freedom  and  justice,  Charles  Fox  astonished  the  Com 
mons  and  the  nation  by  the  display  of  power  in  debate 
which  eclipsed  veteran  speakers.  The  king's  speech  stated 
in  strong  language  the  attitude  of  opposition  to  law  and 
authority  of  his  American  colonies,  and,  claiming  the  right 
to  tax  them  without  their  consent  and  without  regard  to 
their  opinions  and  habits,  expressed  the  determination  to 
resist  every  attempt  to  curtail  the  authority  of  Parliament, 
and  recommended  vigor  and  harmony,  with  the  assurance 
that  his  ministers  would  persevere  in  the  policy  they  had 
pursued.  The  address  of  Parliament  responded  affirma 
tively  to  the  speech.  The  king  had  refused  to  receive  the 
petition  of  the  Congress  of  1774,  on  the  ground  that  it  was 
an  unlawful  and  seditious  assembly.  Three  colonial  agents 
prayed  Parliament  to  hear  them  in  regard  to  this  petition, 
but  were  denied  a  hearing  on  the  same  ground.  Lord 
Chatham,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  moved  the  recall  of  the 


and  was  written  in  Philadelphia,  where  Mr.  Read  was  in  attendance  on 
the  Continental  Congress. 


104  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

troops  from  Boston,  but  his  motion,  though  sustained  by  a 
speech  memorable  for  its  force  and  eloquence,  was  rejected 
by  a  large  majority.  He  then  proposed  the  repeal  of  all 
the  obnoxious  acts  of  Parliament,  asserting  at  the  same 
time  its  supremacy,  excepting  the  right  to  tax,  but  with 
the  like  result.  An  address  to  the  king  (February  3d)  was 
moved  in  the  Commons,  and  carried  there  and  in  the  upper 
House,  declaring  Massachusetts  to  be  in  rebellion  and  aided 
and  abetted  by  combinations  in  other  colonies,  and  beseech 
ing  him  to  take  efficient  measures  to  reduce  them  to  obedi 
ence.  In  reply,  the  king  recommended  an  increase  of  the 
land  and  naval  forces,  which  was  voted.  In  the  same 
month  the  act  was  passed  which  restricted  the  trade  of  the 
northern  colonies  to  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  pro 
hibited  them  from  fishing  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland; 
the  last,  an  especially  cruel  measure,  for  it  deprived  thou 
sands  of  poor,  hardy,  and  industrious  men  of  their  only 
means  of  gaining  a  living  for  themselves  and  families. 
Then  was  adopted  Lord  North's  conciliatory  plan,  as  it  was 
called,  which  conceded  nothing,  for  it  only  changed  the 
manner  without  renouncing  the  right  to  tax.  On  the  29th 
of  March,  1775,  Mr.  Burke  offered  his  plan  of  conciliation, 
which,  in  substance,  was  that  Great  Britain,  abandoning  a 
novel  and  doubtful — if  not  detrimental — policy,  and  re 
curring  to  the  ancient  one  by  which  she  had  so  greatly 
prospered,  should  leave  the  colonists  to  tax  themselves,  as 
theretofore,  by  their  own  representatives,  and  repeal  all  the 
acts  of  trade  enacted  to  raise  revenue.  This  plan  was  re 
jected  by  the  determined  ministerial  majority.  Then  the 
act  restricting  the  trade  of  the  northern  colonies  was  ex 
tended  to  all  but  New  York,  where  the  tories  were  numer 
ous,  and  which,  therefore,  from  policy  was  thus  favored. 
Thus  was  completed  the  ministerial  plan  of  coercion,  the 
effect  of  which  was  awaited  anxiously  but  with  great  con 
fidence  in  its  success. 

In  the  beginning  of  April  were  received  the  acts  of  Par 
liament,  which  completed  what  has  been  aptly  termed  "the 
black  catalogue'  of  measures  which  constituted  the  ministe 
rial  plan  of  coercion.  Instead  of  intimidating,  it  produced 
the  conviction  everywhere,  "after  all,  we  must  fight."  The 
provincial  congress  of  Massachusetts,  which  exercised  ex 
ecutive  as  well  as  legislative  power,  announcing  this  in- 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  105 

felligence,  warned  the  colonists  that  great  reinforcements 
of  the  British  troops  already  in  their  colony  were  soon  to 
be  expected,  and  exhorted  them  to  redoubled  efforts  to 
prepare,  by  military  training,  to  encounter  these  invaders 
of  their  soil.  Blood  had  been  shed  at  Concord  and  Lex 
ington,  and  the  wavering  in  New  York — convinced  that  ap 
peals  to  the  justice  or  generosity  of  Britain  were  fruitless — 
coalesced  with  the  Whigs,  and  this  province  from  that  time 
made  common  cause  with  her  sister  colonies.  The  middle 
and  southern  colonies,  while  they  still  believed  that  the 
conflicting  pretensions  of  Britain  and  America  might  be 
accommodated, — and  earnestly  desired  reconciliation, — with 
one  voice  declared  their  preference  of  war  in  its  worst  form 
— even  civil  war — to  submission,  and  the  royal  government 
in  all  of  them  was  at  an  end.  In  Virginia,  the  seizure  of 
powder  at  Williamsburg,  by  Lord  Dunmore,  caused  a  rup 
ture,  which  was  preceded  by  acrimonious  contests  between 
that  nobleman  and  her  Assembly;  and  his  calumny,  that 
the  Virginian  planters  rebelled  to  escape  payment  of  their 
debts  to  British  merchants,  his  intrigues  with  the  Indians 
to  gain  them  to  the  royal  cause,  and,  above  all,  his  atrocious 
offer  of  freedom  to  the  slaves  who  should  rise  against  their 
masters,  provoked  most  violent  indignation.  The  governors 
of  North  and  South  Carolina,  having  endeavored  to  incite 
the  slaves  of  those  colonies  to  insurrection,  and  intrigued  to 
bring  their  back-settlers  to  the  royal  standard,  fled  inglori- 
ously  from  the  storm  of  wrath  these  measures  awakened. 

Such  was  the  state  of  public  affairs  when  the  delegates 
from  the  colonies  organized  the  General  Congress  of  1775, 
on  the  10th  of  May,  of  that  year,  by  the  choice  of  Peyton 
Randolph,  of  Virginia,  for  president,  and  Charles  Thomson, 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  secretary.  Mr.  Read,  Mr.  Rodney, 
and  Mr.  McKean  represented  the  lower  counties  on  Dela 
ware  in  this  body.  Their  credentials  were  as  follows: 

"  LOWER  COUNTIES  ON  DELAWARE,  IN  ASSEMBLY,  MARCH 
16iH,  1775,  A.M. 

"Resolved,  That  the  honorable  Caesar  Rodney,  Thomas 
McKean,  and  George  Read,  Esquires,  be  and  they  are  hereby 
appointed  and  authorized  to  represent  this  government  at 
the  American  Congress,  proposed  to  be  held  at  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  on  the  10th  day  of  May  next,  or  at  any  other 

8 


106  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

time  or  place,  with  full  power  to  them,  or  any  two  of  them, 
together  with  the  delegates  from  the  other  American  colo 
nies,  to  concert  and  agree  upon  such  further  measures  as 
shall  appear  to  them  best  calculated  for  the  accommodation, 
of  the  unhappy  differences  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
colonies,  on  a  constitutional  foundation,  which  the  House 
most  ardently  wish  for,  and  that  they  report  their  proceed 
ings  to  the  next  session  of  the  General  Assembly. 
u  True  copy  of  minutes  of  Assembly. 
"DAVID  THOMSON, 

"Clerk  to  the  Assembly."* 

I  regret  that  but  four  of  Mr.  Read's  letters,  written  in 
1775,  have  come  into  my  possession;  the  first  of  them  is 
addressed,  as  they  all  are,  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  dated  at  Phila 
delphia. 

"May  18th,  1775. 

"Mr  DEAR  G ,  You  too  justly  hint  at  my  inattention 

to  this  kind  of  correspondence,  but  the  life  I  lead  here  will 
in  some  measure  account  for  it.  I  prepare  in  the  morning 
for  the  meeting  at  nine  o'clock,  and  often  do  not  return  to 
my  lodgings  till  that  time  at  night.  We  sit  in  Congress 
generally  till  half-past  three  o'clock,  and  once  till  five 
o'clock,  and  then  [1]  dine  at  the  City  Tavern ,f  where  a  few 
of  us  have  established  a  table  for  each  day  in  the  week, 
save  Saturday,  when  there  is  a  general  dinner.  Our  daily 
table  is  formed  by  the  following  persons,  at  present,  to  wit: 
Messrs.  Randolph,  Lee,  Washington,  and  Harrison,  of  Vir 
ginia,  Alsop  of  New  York,  Chase  of  Maryland,  and  Rodney 
and  Read.  A  dinner  is  ordered  for  the  number,  eight,  and 
whatever  is  deficient  of  that  number  is  to  be  paid  for  at  two 
shillings  and  sixpence  a  head,  and  each  that  attends  pays 
only  the  expense  of  the  day.  I  have  dined  there  thrice  in 
this  way,  as  I  find  it  very  disagreeable  to  keep  a  table 
covered  for  me  at  these  late  hours  at  my  brother's. 

"  I  am  so  apt  to  put  off  the  beginning  to  write  to  the  last 
moment  that  1  miss  my  opportunity.  I  must  break  through 

*  Journals  of  Congress,  1774,  '75,  and  '76,  vol.  i.  p.  72. 

f  The  City  Tavern  was  situated  upon  Second  and  Walnut  Streets, 
was  erected  A.D.  1770,  and  was  a  distinguished  eating-  and  boarding- 
house. —  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  p.  403. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  107 

this  practice  or  I  shall  not  mend.  At  this  moment  tl>e  sun 
is  rising  [and  I  am  writing],  though  I  got  into  my  bed  the 
last  night  just  as  the  clock  struck  twelve,  being  told  that 
the  stage  sets  off  at  six  this  morning. 

"I  drank  tea  with  Mrs.  Vining  yesterday,  having  seen 
her  at  the  commencement  of  the  college  in  this  place, 
where  the  members  of  Congress  attended  by  special  invi 
tation. 

"As  to  news,  you  will  see  the  depositions  relating  to  the 
attack  of  the  troops  in  their  expedition  to  Lexington  and 
Concord.  These  were  sent  to  Congress,  and  by  them  or 
dered  for  publication  in  Bradford's  paper,  which  you  get 
by  the  post.*  I  inclose  the  'Evening  Post/  Last  night  an 
express  came  to  town  from  one  Colonel  Arnold,  informing 
that,  with  a  detachment  of  men  from  the  colony  of  Connec 
ticut,  he  had  taken  possession  of  the  fort  Ticonderoga,f  an 
important  pass  on  Lake  Cham  plain,  which,  if  kept,  will  pre 
vent  any  army  from  Canada.  I  have  not  heard  the  par 
ticulars.  It  is  reported  that  Dr.  Cooper,  President  of  the 
College  at  New  York,  and  J.  Rivington,  have  retired  on 

*  These  depositions  were  sent  to  the  Continental  Congress  by  the 
Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts,  and  declare  that  the  British 
troops  were  the  aggressors  at  Lexington  and  Concord.  It  is  true, 
depositions  of  British  officers  were  published  :  according  to  which  the 
Americans  fired  first,  but  to  which  they  replied,  it  was  improbable 
undisciplined  militiamen  wrould  attack  a  far  more  numerous  body  of 
trained  soldiers.  Admitting  these  depositions  to  be  equally  reliable, 
and  neutralizing  each  other,  or  putting  them  aside  as  irreconcilable, 
there  remains  no  evidence  but  the  circumstance  of  improbability  in  this 
case,  which  must  decide  it  in  favor  of  the  Americans.  The  American 
depositions  show  that  British  soldiers  on  their  return  behaved  with 
great  barbarity,  plundering  and  burning  houses,  killing  helpless  and 
aged  men,  and  turning  women  in  childbed  into  the  open  air. 

One  of  these  deponents,  Hannah  Bradish,  sets  forth  her  loss  with 
great  particularity.  This  is  the  list  of  articles  she  missed  when  the 
British  soldiers  left  her  house,  and  which  she  verily  believed  they  took 
with  them:  one  rich  brocade  gown,  called  a  negligee,  one  lutestring 
gown,  one  white  quilt,  one  pair  of  brocade  shoes,  three  shifts,  eight  white 
aprons,  three  caps,  one  case  of  ivory  knives  and  forks,  and  several  other 
articles.— Journals  of  Congress,  1774,  '75,  '76,  pp.  72-89. 

•(•  Fort  Ticonderoga,  now  in  ruins,  is  situated  on  an  eminence  on  the 
west  side  of  Lake  Champlain,  just  north  of  the  entrance  into  it  of  the 
outlet  from  Lake  George,  fifteen  miles  south  of  Crown  Point,  which 
were  taken  by  Generals  Allen  and  Arnold,  then  colonels,  10th  May, 
1775.  These  posts  have  been  called  the  "  gate"  and  "  key"  of  Canada. 
— Encyclopaedia  Americana,  vol.  xii.  p.  252. 


108  LIFE   AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

board  a  man-of-war  there;  that  James  Delancey,  Peggy 
Allen's  husband,  is  scouting  through  the  by-roads,  towards 
Colonel  Johnston's,  in  the  Mohawk  country;  and  that  Oliver 
Delancey,  captain  of  a  troop  of  horse,  that  is  coming  over, 
has  been  on  a  visit  to  his  father,  but  secretly  retired,  and  is 
travelling  in  disguise  through  the  back  parts  of  the  country 
towards  Boston,  and  [I  shall  be]  much  [surprised]  if  he  is 
not  interrupted  before  he  gets  to  his  journey's  end. 

"  Your  friends  here  are  all  well.  I  dined  at  Gurney's 
last  Sunday. 

"Most  affectionately  yours, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"George  must  trust  for  an  answer  to  his  letter." 

Mr.  Read  writes  again,  May  23d  : 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  That  you  may  not  charge  me  with  in 
attention,  I  take  pen  in  hand,  at  a  late  hour,  to  chat  with 
you,  before  I  retire  to  my  nest,  as  Mr.  Van  Luvenigh,  whom 
I  met  on  the  Common  this  evening,  returns  to  your  town 
to-morrow,  and  promised  to  call  upon  me. 

"  I  really  begin  to  tire  of  my  confinement.  I  attended 
at  nine  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  [to-day],  and  did  not  stir 
till  after  five;  this  is  common;  could  we  separate  at  three, 
I  could  bear  it  tolerably  well.  On  Monday  I  dined  with  a 
select  company  of  two  or  three  persons  at  Mr.  Dickinson's, 
where  you  were  inquired  after.  He  was,  and  indeed  still 
is,  much  affected  with  the  loss  of  his  youngest  child — the 
surviving  one  is  a  fine,  hearty  girl.  I  had  an  invitation  to 
dine  at  Mr.  James  Allen's  the  same  day,  but  subsequent  to 
the  other.  An  invitation  is  sent  me  this  evening  by  Andrew 
Allen  to  dine  on  Saturday;  but  we  distress  these  people  by 
our  late  hours,  though  there  is  but  little  entertaining  at  this 
Congress  compared  to  the  last.  The  delegates  are  not  such 
novelties  now. 

"  There  is  a  paragraph  in  the  New  York  paper,  brought 
by  this  day's  post,  that  the  regiment  of  horse,  expected  from 
England,  had  refused  to  embark,  and  also  that  the  troops 
from  Ireland  were  stopped  on  occasion  of  some  disturbance 
there, — very  lucky  for  America,  if  this  be  true;  as  it  was 
our  great  dependence  to  save  fighting  here  that  the  people 
at  home  would  rouse  and  exert  themselves  to  prevent  a 
civil  war  here ;  however,  no  great  dependence  can  be  put  on 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  109 

this  intelligence.  A  private  letter  from  New  York  mentions 
that  one  regiment  was  detained,  but  the  rest  were  coming, 
which,  or  whether  either  is  true  we  cannot  learn  with  any 
certainty  yet. 

"James  Read  had  the  ague  yesterday;  the  rest  of  the 
family  and  all  your  friends  here  are  well. 

"I  bid  you  good-night,  and  am  yours,  most  affectionately, 

"GEORGE  READ,  Philadelphia. 

"Kiss  our  little  ones  for  me. 

"  Per  Mr.  Van  Luvenigh." 

The  next  letter  was  written  13th  July,  1775. 

"My  DEAR  G ,  I  did  expect  you  would  have  been 

agreeably  surprised  by  a  visit  from  Mrs.  Biddle,  as  she,  with 
her  daughter,  Mr.  Biddle,  and  your  brother,  John  Ross,  set 
off  in  a  pilot-boat  on  Friday  morning,  got  to  Chester  that 
evening,  and  were  to  have  proceeded  on,  but  upon  examin 
ing  the  pilot's  boy,  discovered  that  he  had  his  master's  order 
to  return  the  next  day,  at  all  events;  this,  and  a  very  warm 
night,  determined  their  return  here  yesterday;  and  I  find 
Mr.  Biddle  has  determined  to  proceed  home  upon  the  first 
alteration  of  the  weather  from  the  extreme  heat  that  pre 
vails  now,  and  this  I  think  is  right. 

"In  the  present  situation  of  the  members  of  the  Congress, 
and  the  state  of  the  business  before  them,  it  is  highly  proba 
ble  that  we  shall  adjourn  for  some  time.  This  is  but  just 
talked  of;  the  major  part  of  the  six  middle  colonies  are  for 
it;  however,  some  new  business  may  frustrate  the  expecta 
tion  of  some  persons  of  an  early  adjournment. 

"The  Parliament  was  prorogued  on  the  26th  of  May  for 
two  months.  The  king's  speech  upon  that  occasion  has 
come  over;  there  was  nothing  particular  in  it.  The  news 
of  the  Lexington  battle  had  not  got  home  then,  but  it  is 
reported  came  two  days  after, — to  wit,  the  28th.  This  is  a 
mere  verbal  account. 

"Your  nephew,  James  Ross,  will  command  a  company 
of  riflemen, — one  company  only  had  been  ordered  to  be  raised 
in  the  county  of  Lancaster;  however,  Jemmy  undertook  to 
raise  the  second,  and  they  have  been  accepted  of  by  Con 
gress.  I  have  heard  nothing  from  Colonel  Thompson, — we 
expect  him  every  day. 

"The  Congress  have  received  no  letter  from  General 


110  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

Washington  since  his  arrival  at  the  camp.  The  account  of 
their  reception  there,  mentioned  in  Bradford's  paper  of  yes 
terday,  is  said  to  be  wrote  by  Griffin,  General  Lee's  aid-de 
camp.  The  list  of  the  slain*  on  both  sides,  as  mentioned 
in  the  same  paper,  came  from  Joseph  Read,  the  lawyer,  of 
this  place.  He  went  from  hence  with  the  general,  and  now 
acts  as  his  secretary. 

"Your  friends  are  all  well.  I  wish  to  share  the  cool 
breezes  of  New  Castle  with  you.  I  grow  impatient,  but 
this  only  increases  my  uneasiness.  Kiss  our  little  ones,  and 
believe  me  yours,  most  affectionately, 

"GEORGE  READ,  Philadelphia." 

The  Congress  recommended  the  training  of  the  militia, 
and  the  raising  of  Continental  troops,  for  which  the  neces 
sary  measures  were  adopted,  and  provided  for  the  organiza 
tion  of  the  higher  departments  of  the  army,  and  adopted 
rules  for  its  government,  though  as  yet  raised  under  the 
authority  of  the  colonies,  who  furnished  the  quotas  which 
composed  it.  They  agreed  to  a  manifesto  or  declaration  of 
the  causes  and  necessity  for  taking  up  arms.  They  author 
ized  the  issue  of  three  millions  of  bills  of  credit  for  the  ex 
penses  of  the  war.  They  adopted  a  petition  to  the  king, 
and  addresses  to  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain,  to  the 
Assembly  of  Jamaica,  and  to  the  people  of  Ireland,  having 
previously  approved  a  letter  to  the  oppressed  Canadians, 
reported  by  a  committee  of  their  body,  and  ordered  it  to  be 
translated  into  French,  and  distributed.^ 

*  At  Bunker's  Hill,  I  suppose. 

•j-  "I  took  my  seat  in  the  Congress  of  1175  (June  21st),  and  was 
added,  with  Mr.  Dickinson,  to  the  committee  appointed  to  prepare  'a 
declaration  of  the  causes  of  taking  up  arms.'  I  prepared  a  draft  of  the 
declaration  (which  had  been  previously  drawn,  and  recommitted  because 
unsatisfactory).  It  was  too  strong  for  Mr.  Dickinson.  He  still  retained 
the  hope  of  reconciliation  with  the  mother-country,  and  was  unwilling 
that  it  should  be  lessened  by  offensive  statements.  He  was  so  honest 
a  man,  and  so  able  a  one,  that  he  was  greatly  indulged,  even  by  those 
who  could  not  feel  his  scruples.  We  therefore  requested  him  to  take 
the  paper,  and  put  it  into  a  form  he  could  approve.  He  did  so,  prepar 
ing  an  entire  new  statement,  preserving  of  the  former  the  last  four  par 
agraphs,  and  the  last  of  the  preceding  one.  We  approved,  and  presented 
it  to  Congress,  who  accepted  it. 

"Congress  gave  a  signal  proof  of  their  indulgence  to  Mr.  Dickinson, 
and  of  their  great  desire  not  to  go  too  fast  for  any  respectable  part  of 
our  body,  in  permitting  him  to  draw  their  second  'Petition  to  the  King' 


OF  GEOEQE   READ.  HI 

On  the  15th  June  George  Washington  was  unanimously 
elected,  by  Congress,  com mander-in -chief  of  all  the  forces 
raised  or  to  he  raised  for  the  defence  of  American  liberty, 
and  on  the  ICth  of  that  month  accepted  this  high  and  re 
sponsible  trust  with  the  modesty  and  disinterestedness 
which  distinguished  him.  lie  took  his  departure  immedi 
ately  for  the  army,  and  arrived,  about  the  beginning  of  July, 
at  Cambridge,  its  head-quarters,  where  he  assumed  the  chief 
command. 

Congress  took  a  recess  from  the  1st  of  August  to  the  5th 
of  September,  but  did  not,  for  want  of  a  quorum,  recom 
mence  business  till  the  loth  of  that  month.  (Journal,  vol.  i. 
pp.  180, 181.) 

General  Washington  was  at  the  head  of  about  fourteen 
thousand  five  hundred  men,  but  disorganized,  and  inade 
quately  supplied  with  powder  and  arms,  especially  bayonets, 
tents,  and  clothes,  and  without  engineers,  and  with  a  small 
supply  of  working-tools.  The  American  army  occupied 
both  sides  of  the  Charles  River,  its  right  on  the  high 
grounds  near  Roxbury,  extending  from  thence  towards  Dor 
chester;  and  its  left  was  protected  by  the  river  Mystic  or 
Medford.  The  space  thus  occupied  was  about  twelve  miles. 
Boston  stands  on  a  neck  of  land  which  extends  northeast 
ward  into  the  ocean,  and  is  joined  by  a  narrow  isthmus 
to  the  continent,  which  isthmus  is  bounded  by  the  Atlantic 
to  the  south,  and  the  Charles  River  to  the  north.  The 
American  and  British  armies  labored  on  their  works  to 
strengthen  them,  with  some  skirmishing,  but  with  little  loss. 
General  Washington  was  anxious  to  attack  the  works  of 
the  enemy,  being  strongly  inclined  to  think  they  could  be 
stormed,  but  a  council  of  his  officers  not  advising  an  attempt 
so  hazardous,  the  blockade  of-  Boston  was  continued. 

While  Mr.  Read  and  his  brother-in-law,  George  Ross,  a 

according  to  his  own  ideas,  and  passing  it  with  hardly  any  amendment. 
The  disgust  against  this  humility  was  general,  and  Mr.  Dickinson's 
delight  at  its  passage  was  the  circumstance  that  reconciled  them  to  it. 
The  vote  being  passed, — although  further  observation  upon  it  was  out  of 
order, — he  could  not  refrain  from  rising  and  expressing  his  satisfaction, 
and  concluded  by  saying,  'There  is  but  one  word,  Mr.  President,  in  the 
paper  I  disapprove,  and  that  is  the  word  Congress."1  On  which  Bon. 
Harrison  rose  and  said,  'There  is  but  one  word  in  the  paper,  Mr. 
President,  which  I  approve,  and  that  is  the  word  Congress.7  " —  Writings 
of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  i.  pp.  10,  11. 


112  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  conjunction 
with  the  sages  of  Congress,  were  giving  tone  and  direction 
to  the  ardor  of  our  armies,  four  of  their  family  were  assert 
ing  the  liberty  of  their  country  in  the  field:  Colonel  Bedford, 
afterwards  Governor  of  Delaware;  Colonel  Read,  of  Phila 
delphia,  who  a  few  years  since  was  gathered  to  his  fathers, 
aged  almost  fourscore  years;  James,  son  of  George  Ross; 
and  Colonel,  afterwards  General,  Thompson,  who  had  mar 
ried  a  sister  of  Mr.  Read.  The  following  letter  from  Gen 
eral  Thompson,  who,  at  the  head  of  the  first  rifle  regiment 
raised  in  Pennsylvania,  joined  the  American  army  besieg 
ing  Boston,  indicates  the  sprightly  courage  of  the  Irishman, 
while  it  exhibits  in  pleasing  characters  the  naivete  of  the 
soldier.  It  was  written  from  the  American  camp,  10th  of 
September,  1775: 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — I  would  have  written  to  you  before  this 
time,  but  was  prevented  by  being  very  much  hurried  when 
I  first  came  here,  and  I  knew  you  had  accounts  every  day 
from  the  people  here,  who  had  much  more  time  to  write. 

"I  am  fixed  at  present  on  the  most  beautiful  spot  of 
ground  in  the  world,  as  I  can  see  from  the  door  of  my  tent 
all  our  well-regulated  army  from  Roxbury  to  Winter  Hill, 
and  at  the  same  time  look  down  upon  the  enemies  of  our 
country,  confined  within  the  narrow  bounds  of  Boston  and 
Bunker  Hill,  and  further,  you  may  depend,  they  shall  not 
pass,  had  they  Lord  North  and  [all]  the  troops  in  the  pay 
of  Great  Britain  to  assist  them. 

"Our  troops  are  well  supplied,  and  in  high  spirits,  and 
long  much  to  come  to  action;  but  I  am  doubtful  we  shall 
have  little  to  do  in  the  fighting  Way. 

"I  am  very  happy  in  all  *my  commanding  officers.  I 
always  had  a  high  esteem  for  the  commander-in-chief,  and 
higher  now  than  ever.  I  am  every  day  more  pleased  with 
General  Lee;  our  country  owes  much  to  him,  and  happy 
we  are  that  a  man  of  his  great  knowledge  assists  in  the 
command  of  our  army. 

"They  have  appointed  me  the  second  colonel  in  the 
Continental  army,  and  Colonel  Fry,  that  is  the  first,  does 
the  duty  of  a  brigadier  general :  so  that  if  my  friends  take 
the  necessary  care  for  me,  I  may  soon  be  promoted  either 
in  Continental  or  Provincial  Congress. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  113 

"All  the  news  is  in  cannonading,  and  a  few  bombs,  which 
are  the  most  harmless  sport  in  lite;  indeed,  I  have  seen  more 
mischief  done  by  throwing  the  same  number  of  snow-balls, 
but  don't  tell  cousin  Gurney*  so,  or  he  will  bring  over  the 
poor  devils  he  killed  in  Germany,  last  war,  to  show  that 
people  have  been  put  to  death  by  cannons  in  other  parts  of 
the  world,  though  the  Americans  are  proof  against  them. 

"  Let  me  hear  from  you.     My  best  compliments  wait  on  • 
Mrs.   Read,  your   dear   little    ones,   and    all    friends,   and 
believe    [me],  dear  George,  to   be   your  very   affectionate 
brother, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"P.  g. — My  love  to  my  brother  John  [Ross].  I  know 
he  will  be  pleased  to  have  his  liberty  secured  to  him,  what 
ever  he  may  say  to  the  contrary." 

General  Thompson  again  wrote  to  Mr.  Read. 

"PROSPECT  HILL,  October  26th,  1TT5. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — I  received  your  kind  letter,  for  which 
I  return  you  my  thanks. 

"  Soon  after  my  arrival  here  I  delivered  an  account  of 
the  five  thousand  dollars  to  his  Excellency  General  Wash 
ington,  which  he  says  he  sent  to  the  Congress.  All  the 
cash  I  paid  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  regiment,  the 
blankets,  hunting-shirts,  rifle-guns,  etc.,  I  have  charged  to 
the  respective  companies,  and  I  am  certain  no  mistake  can 
arise  in  that  quarter;  and  if  it  appears  that  anything  is 
brought  in  the  account  from  the  different  committees,  and 
charged  before,  it  will  be  found  out  when  the  accounts  are 
compared,  and  I  am  certain  I  can,  on  seeing  the  state  of  the 
whole  accounts,  prevent  any  loss  to  the  public.  The  cash 
I  paid  the  wagoners  I  have  ordered  to  be  stopped  out  of 
their  accounts,  and  I  believe  have  mentioned  it  on  the  cer 
tificates  which  I  gave  them.  I  would  not  have  made  a 
charge  of  my  own  tent,  etc.,  but  I  find  that  tents,  blankets, 
etc.  are  all  charged  to  the  public  by  the  officers  of  the  army, 
so  I  have  followed  the  good  example. 

"  I  shall  write  you  and  brother  George  fully  to-morrow, 

*  Son-in-law  of  John  Ross,  and  formerly  an  officer  in  the  British 
army. 


114  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

by  Mr.  Jesse  Lukens.    All  I  can  say  at  present  in  regard  to 
military  matters,  is — we  are  plagued  keeping  the  regulars 
in,  and  the  poor  devils  are  as  much  put  to  it  to  keep  us  out, 
and  so  ends  my  story,  and  so  will  end  our  campaign. 
"  And  am  yours,  very  sincerely, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON.* 
"  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire." 

The  possession  of  Canada  was  a  favorite  object  of  Con 
gress,  who  did  not  overrate  its  importance.  The  invasion 
of  New  York  might  be  anticipated  from  Canada,  and  at 
tempts  were  actually  making  to  that  end,  and  a  great  quan 
tity  of  military  stores  was  deposited  at  Quebec.  The  Cana 
dians  were  disaffected  to  Great  Britain,  in  consequence  of 
the  recent  Acts  of  Parliament,  in  relation  to  their  province, 
and  would  probably  join  the  standard  of  the  colonists, 
should  they  anticipate  the  British  in  occupying  it,  with  an 
army  that  could  protect  them.  General  Schuyler  was 
ordered  to  enter  Canada.  This  distinguished  officer  obeyed, 
but  in  an  early  stage  of  the  campaign  was  totally  disabled 
by  disease,  and  the  heroic  Montgomery,  next  to  him  in  rank, 
assumed  the  command  of  the  invading  army.  He  reduced 
St.  John's  and  Montreal,  and  with  a  force,  diminished  to 
three  hundred  men  by  the  necessity  of  garrisoning  those 
towns  and  Chambly,  he  resolved  to  attack  Quebec.  In  the 
mean  time  Colonel  Arnold,  detached  in  August  by  Wash 
ington,  with  a  force  of  about  one  thousand  men,  was  march 
ing  upon  that  city.f  After  ascending  the  Kennebec  River, 
as  far  as  the  lake  of  St.  Peter,  he  tmversed  the  wilderness 
between  the  frontier  of  New  England  and  the  St.  Lawrence, 
overcoming  almost  incredible  difficulties,  scaling  rugged 
and  lofty  hills,  cutting  roads  through  nearly  impervious 
forests,  wading  morasses,  and  hauling  bateaux  against  rapid 
streams.  On  the  9th  of  November,  Arnold,  his  force  di 
minished  one-third  by  the  return  of  his  rear-guard,  to  escape 
starvation,  arrived  at  Point  Levi;  but  high  winds  delayed 
his  crossing  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  other  untoward  circum- 

*  For  a  notice  of  General  Thompson,  see  Appendix  to  this  chapter. 

f  As  Charlton's  force  was  insufficient  to  defend  successfully  both  Mon 
treal  and  Quebec,  the  object  of  .Washington  was  to  reduce  him  to  a 
painful  dilemma — to  choose  which  he  should  leave  to  be  captured  by 
the  American  invaders. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  115 

stances  prevented  an  immediate  assault  upon  Quebec,  which 
there  is  strong  reason  to  believe  would  have  been  successful. 
Retreating  to  Point  aux  Trembles,  twenty  miles  above 
Quebec,  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  Montgomery,  who,  as 
expeditiously  as  possible,  joined  him,  and  advancing  with 
their  united  forces,  but  a  handful,  set  down  before  Quebec. 
Fourteen  days  before  the  assault  upon  Quebec,  Major 
Macpherson,  one  of  Montgomery's  aids,  wrote  the  following 
letter  to  Mr.  Read  : 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — A  few  days  ago  I  was  favored  with 
your  letter  of  the  llth  of  last  month.  I  esteem  myself 
much  obliged  by  the  friendly  assurances  it  contains. 

"  The  general's  dispatches  will  inform  you  of  our  former 
motions,  which  I  dare  say  will  meet  the  approbation  of 
'Congress,  especially  as  we  have  been  successful. 

"  Yesterday  I  was  sent  with  a  flag  to  try  for  the  last 
time  if  Mr.  Charlton  would  give  over  an  useless  defence, 
and  thereby  save  the  town  and  garrison  from  the  distress 
of  a  blockade,  or  the  horror  and  carnage  of  an  assault.  On 
my  appearing  before  the  walls  a  message  was  sent  to  him, 
and  an  officer  soon  after  informed  me  I  should  not  be  ad 
mitted.  I  then  asked  if  the  governor  would  send  some 
one  to  receive  my  letter,  I  was  told  '  to  make  the  best  of 
my  way  off;  for  he  would  receive  nothing  from  General 
Montgomery.'  To  this  I  answered,  '  that  Mr.  Charlton 
would  remember  this  by-and-by.'  It  was  with  difficulty 
some  of  the  people  were  restrained  from  firing  on  me,  dur 
ing  this  parley  (which  lasted  a  quarter  of  an  hour),  as  they 
had  done  twice  on  flags  sent  by  Colonel  Arnold.  But  the 
most  of  those  who  were  on  the  wall  seemed  disposed  to 
listen  to  terms,  as  far  as  I  could  guess  from  their  behavior. 
The  officer  who  first  appeared  had  agreed  to  my  carrying 
my  side-arms  into  town.  But  the  general  rendered  our 
negotiation  of  no  effect,  by  forbidding  either  me  or  my  arms 
to  enter.  I  hope  this  attempt,  fruitless  as  it  was,  will  open 
the  eyes  of  the  people  to  his  conduct,  and  show  them  the 
folly  of  suffering  his  madness  or  pride  to  sacrifice  their  lives 
and  properties  by  not  hearing  terms,  which,  if  he  did  not 
like,  he  might  refuse.  But  the  truth  is,  that  he  is  afraid  of 
their  receiving  information  of  our  conduct,  or  intentions,  as 
he  well  knows  the  inhabitants  do  garrison  duty  only  be- 


116  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

cause  he  and  his  emissaries  have  told  them  that  we  have 
plundered  every  place  which  we  have  passed  through  ex 
cept  Montreal,  which  they  say  was  redeemed  for  .£16,000 
sterling. 

"Notwithstanding  the  advanced  season,  I  hope  we  shall 
carry  the  resolve  of  Congress,  of  the  llth  of  November, 
into  execution,  by  taking  Quebec,*  though  considering  you 
did  not  then  know  that  we  were  in  possession  of  St.  John's, 
it  might  be  thought  you  rated  our  abilities  too  high.  But 
to  willing  minds  nothing  is  difficult,  and  to  a  victorious 
army  nothing  is  impossible.  You  see  I  have  learned  to 
gasconade  a  little.  The  air  of  the  country  is  infectious  in 
that  particular.  If  the  French  could  but  do  what  they 
say,  their  attempts  for  universal  empire  would  not  have 
been  so  fruitless. 

"I  am  happy  to  hear  New  Castle  is  not  a  deserted  village, 
and  hope  my  friends  there  will  be  free  from  apprehension 
of  men-of-war  during  the  winter.  My  best  compliments 
attend  them  all,  and  particularly  your  connections.  Be 
pleased  to  make  my  respects  to  Mr.  McKean,  Brigadier 
McKinley,  and  Brigadier  Rodney,  and  believe  me  ever  your 
most  faithful,  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  MACPHERSON. 
"Before  Quebec,  16th  December,  1775. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire. 

"I  had  almost  forgot  to  mention  to  you  General  Mont 
gomery's  writing  to  General  Schuyler  to  recommend  me  for 
a  majority  in  the  new  levies  in  Pennsylvania,  or  our  govern 
ment.  I  am  tired  of  leading  a  life  of  so  much  ease,  while 
other  officers  are  exposed  to  hardships  almost  double  what 
I  experience.  Head-quarters  are  extremely  agreeable,  but  I 
wish  for  the  roughs  as  well  as  the  smooths  of  a  soldier's 
life."f 

Before  Mr.  Read  received  this  letter  Quebec  was  assaulted 
by  the  American  army  unsuccessfully,  and  the  brave  Mont- 

*  "November  llth,  1775.  Resolved,  That  the  fortifications  of  Que 
bec,  in  case  it  comes  into  our  hands,  be  repaired,  and  furnished  with 
such  provisions,  arms,  ammunition,  and  artillery  as  may  be  necessary 
for  its  security." — Journals  of  Congress,  1774,  '75,  '76,  vol.  i.  p.  230. 

f  See  Appendix  C,  notice  of  Major  Macpherson. 


OF  GEOEGE  EEAD.  117 

gomery,  with  Macpherson  and  Cheesman  (his  aids)  num 
bered  with  the  dead. 

Mr.  Read,  17th  December,  1775,  writes  as  follows: 

"MY  DEAR  G ,  I  have  yours  of  the  14th,  which  I 

was  waiting  with  impatience  for,  as  I  began  to  suspect  that 
Tatlow  would  have  laid  up  his  boats.  As  soon  as  this  shall 
happen  you  must  make  use  of  the  post  for  the  conveyance 
of  your  letters.  I  find  that  the  news  of  raising  a  battalion 
in  our  government  has  spread  among  you  by  the  persons 
you  mention  as  intending  to  apply  for  offices;  perhaps, 
when  they  come  to  know  that  their  service  will  not  be  con 
fined  to  the  government,  but  [they]  may  be  ordered  to  the 
most  distant  parts  of  the  continent,  and  that  as  soon  as  they 
are  raised,  it  may  repress  the  ardor  of  some  of  them. 

"We  have  had  no  certain  accounts  from  any  part  of 
Canada  since  the  capitulation  of  Montreal,  therefore  what 
you  see  in  the  papers  is  not  to  be  relied  on. 

"I  doubt  you  will  not  see  me  in  the  beginning  of  the 
holidays.  An  adjournment  of  Congress  is  much  talked  of, 
and  wished  by  some,  but  really  there  is  so  much  that  must 
be  done  before  a  separation  that  I  cannot  give  a  hint  of  the 
time. 

"  I  was  yesterday  put  upon  a  committee  that  is  to  meet 
every  evening  at  six  o'clock,  which  may  be  obliged  to  sit 
regularly  for  ten  days  to  come,  and  as  I  am  considered 
a  great  absentee  heretofore,  I  must  attend  constantly  for 
awhile.* 

"Your  friends  are  all  well.  My  love  to  our  little  ones, 
and  believe  me  yours,  most  affectionately, 

"GEORGE  READ." 

On  Saturday,  December  30th,  1775,  Congress  adjourned  to 
Monday,  January  1st,  1776,  when  they  met,  in  ignorance  of 
the  repulse  and  death  of  General  Montgomery,  and  hope 
ful  of  his  success.  1  hey.  would  have  been  startled  indeed 
could  they  have  raised  the  curtain  which  hid  the  future, 
and  descried  events  which  were  to  make  the  new  year,  on 

*  Mr.  Read,  December  14th  (not  16th),  was  appointed  by  ballot,  with 
others,  on  the  committee  of  thirteen,  to  cany  into  execution  the  resolutions 
of  Congress  for  fitting  out  a  naval  armament. — Journals  of  Congress, 
1774,  '75,  '76,  vol.  i.  p.  273. 


118  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

which  they  entered,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  our 
annals, — the  evacuation  of  Boston,  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  the  battle  and  defeat  of  Brooklyn,  the  loss  of 
Long  Island  and  the  city  of  New  York,  the  capture  of  Fort 
Washington,  the  evacuation  of  Fort  Lee,  the  retreat  of  our 
army  through  Jersey,  and  the  sudden  irradiation,  as  the 
year  ended,  of  the  gloom  of  disaster  by  that  brilliant  stroke 
of  generalship  at  Trenton,  which  revived  the  waning  con 
fidence  of  his  countrymen  in  the  American  commander-in- 
chief  and  restored  hope  when  their  cause  seemed  lost. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  119 


APPENDICES    TO   CHAPTER    II. 


A- 

NOTICE  OF  GENERAL  THOMPSON. 

WILLIAM  THOMPSON  was  by  birth  an  Irishman.  He  emigrated,  at 
an  early  period  of  the  last  century,  to  Pennsylvania,  and  settled  on  a 
farm  lie  subsequently  called  "  Soldier's  Retreat,"  near  Carlisle,  in  Cum 
berland  County,  of  that  State,  then  a  frontier  settlement.  Agriculture 
did  not  afford  sufficient  occupation  for  a  man  of  his  active  and  intrepid 
temper,  he,  therefore,  while  a  farmer,  was  also  a  surveyor;  and  to  be  a 
skillful  one,  as  he  was,  must  have  received  at  least  a  good  education  in 
the  common  branches  of  learning.  The  surveyor,  in  the  frontier  settle 
ments  of  the  last  century,  was  a  very  different  person  from  the  surveyor 
of  the  present  time.  Instead  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  a  country  school 
master,  or  a  scrivener  running  the  lines  of  farms  in  long-settled  districts, 
with  no  more  hardship  than  being  occasionally  incommoded  by  a  sum 
mer's  sun  or  winter's  wind,  or  having  to  wade  a  swamp,  or  being 
wetted  by  a  thunder-gust,  he  was  employed  to  locate  grants  of  land  in 
unsettled  territory.  He  required  a  party  of  men,  not  only  sufficient  for 
the  work  of  surveying,  but  others  for  their  protection,  hunting,  cutting 
roads,  felling  giant  trees,  bridging  streams,  and  camping;  and  must 
have  been  qualified  to  lead  them  by  bravery,  activity,  enterprise,  vigi 
lance,  prudence,  and  providence,  with  the  eye  quick  to  perceive  the 
character  of  the  country  he  traversed.  For  weeks  or  months  he  threaded 
forests  never  before  penetrated  by  the  white  man,  exposed  to  the  deadly 
fang  of  the  rattlesnake,  or  spring  of  the  panther,  or  arrow  of  the  red 
man,  lurking  to  add  to  his  trophies  more  scalps  of  the  pale-faces.  The 
influence  of  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  the  scenery  of  the  solitudes  he 
explored  was  salutary,  for  it  purified  and  elevated. 

With  such  training,  it  excites  no  surprise  to  find  William  Thompson 
serving  in  the  war  between  France  and  England,  prosecuted  in  America, 
for  the  magnificent  prize  of  western  territory  each  coveted. 

Fort  Granby,  on  the  Pennsylvania  border,  had  been  surprised  by  the 
French  and  Indians,  and  its  garrison,  tottering  under  its  stores  with 
which  their  exultant  captors  loaded  them  as  beasts  of  burden,  were 
hurried  away  captives.  More  than  a  thousand  whites  had  fallen  beneath 
the  tomahawk,  their  humble  but  happy  dwellings  given  to  the  flames, 
their  wives  and  children  sharing  their  fate  or  made  prisoners.  A  place 
of  rendezvous  of  these  devilish  Indians  was  Kittanning,  on  the  Alleghany, 
a  river  which  has  its  highest  sources  in  Potter  County,  Pennsylvania, 
and  like  a  coy  girl, — affecting  to  shun  the  youth  of  her  choice, — running 
there  a  few  miles,  it  enters  New  York,  but  after  a  short  course  in  that 


120  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

State,  again  turning  into  Pennsylvania,  flows  through  a  mountainous 
and  romantic  region,  till,  mingling  with  the  Monongahela,  they  form  the 
Ohio,  which  the  French,  charmed  by  its  limpid  waters  and  the  beautiful 
scenery  of  its  banks,  loved  to  call  the  "  belle  riviere."  An  expedition 
of  three  hundred  provincials,  under  command  of  Colonel  Armstrong, 
was  concerted  against  Kittanning.  His  troops  rendezvoused  at  Fort 
Shirley,  on  the  Juniata  River,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Phila 
delphia,  from  which  post  he  moved  August  30th,  1756.  Their  march 
through  a  wilderness  was  conducted  with  secrecy  and  celerity.  Arm 
strong  joined  the  party  he  had  sent  in  advance,  with  his  main  force, 
at  Frankstovvn,  and  they  arrived  at  a  point  distant  six  miles  from  Kit- 
tanning  in  the  evening  of  September  7th.  Discovering  a  party  of  In 
dians,  Armstrong  did  not  attack  them,  fearing,  if  he  did  so,  he  should 
alarm  those  at  Kittanning ;  but  passing  them  unnoticed,  left  twelve 
men  under  Lieutenant  Hogg  to  assail  them  on  the  morrow  at  daybreak. 
Continuing  his  march  with  skill,  equal  to  that  of  the  stealthy  red  men, 
he  struck  the  Alleghany  one  hundred  perches  below  Kittanning  at  three 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  September  8th,  guided  by  the  whoops  of  the 
Indians,  who  were  celebrating  by  a  scalp-dance  their  recent  successful 
marauds.  That  the  reader  may  have  the  whole  scene  before  him,  let 
him  picture  to  himself  a  clearing,  thronged  with  Indians,  warriors, 
squaws,  and  children;  the  braves  first  dancing  singly, -and  chanting 
their  exploits,  and  as  they  ended  striking  the  war-post  in  the  centre  of 
the  assembly;  then  all  dancing  together,  flourishing  their  knives,  with 
whoops  and  yells  truly  demoniac.  The  dogs,  offered  in  sacrifice,  had 
been  eaten,  and  the  exhausted  revellers  had  sunk  into  slumber  in  the 
false  and  fatal  confidence  that  their  manitous,  whom  they  had  propitiated 
and  invoked  would  keep  around  them  sure  watch  and  ward.  The  night 
was  warm  and  beautiful,  moonlit  and  calm,  and  a  mist  from  the  Alle 
ghany,  like  a  veil  of  gossamer,  softened,  without  hiding  from  view,  the 
hills,  and  vales,  and  forests.  The  setting  of  the  moon — so  poetically 
termed,  by  some  Indian  tribes,  the  "  sun  of  night" — was  the  signal  for 
the  attack.  The  Indians  were  divided,  part  being  with  their  chiefs, 
Captain  Jacobs  and  "  Shengis,"  in  the  village,  and  the  rest  in  an  open 
corn-field,  which  the  heat  of  the  night  made  them  prefer  to  their  houses 
for  a  sleeping-place.  The  attack  began  by  the  provincials  charging  the 
Indians  in  the  corn-field,  through  which,  having  killed  several  of  the 
enemy,  they  entered  Kittanning.  The  Indians,  though  completely  sur 
prised,  defended  their  houses  bravely.  Armstrong  fired  them.  They 
refused,  though  offered  quarters,  to  surrender.  The  chiefs  chanted  their 
death-songs,  while  the  horror  of  the  scene  was  enhanced  by  frequent 
explosions  of  gunpowder,  of  which  there  was  a  large  quantity  recently 
received  from  the  French, — "  with  which  explosions,"  Armstrong  wrote, 
"he  and  his  men  were  agreeably  entertained."  Of  the  Indians,  a  few, 
who  burst  through  the  windows  of  the  burning  houses,  were  shot, 
among  them  Captain  Jacobs,  and  the  king's  son,  a  child  of  Anak,  said 
to  have  been  seven  feet  high.  The  victory  was  complete.  Thirty  or 
forty  Indians  were  killed,  Kittanning  destroyed,  and  eleven  prisoners 
released.  Colonel  Armstrong  was  wounded  in  the  shoulder,  and  Cap 
tain,  afterwards  General,  Mercer  wounded  in  the  arm,  and  left  behind, 
though  he  reached  the  settled  country  afterwards.  The  provincials, 
fearing  an  attack  from  Fort  Du  Quesne, — about  forty  miles  from  Kittan- 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  121 

rung, — immediately  after  their  victory  regained  their  horses,  which  they 
had  left  secured  in  their  rear,  and,  moving-  rapidly,  arrived  safely  at  Fort 
Cumberland.  General  Thompson  was  a  commissioned  officer  of  this 
expedition.  A  silver  medal  was  struck  by  the  city  of  Philadelphia,  and 
given  to  Colonel  Armstrong  and  each  of  his  commissioned  officers,  to 
express  the  public  joy  and  gratitude  for  this  success,  and  to  commemo 
rate  their  exploit.  1  have  before  me  General  Thompson's  medal,  which 
was  given  to  me  by  my  mother  because  I  was  named  after  him.  It  is 
blackened  by  time.  Its  device  is  "an  officer  followed  by  two  soldiers; 
the  officer  pointing  to  a  soldier  shooting  from  behind  a  tree,  and  an  In 
dian  prostrate  before  him.  In  the  background  Indian  houses  are  seen 
burning.  Its  legend  is  'Kittanning  destroyed  by  Colonel  Armstrong, 
September  8th,  1756.'  Its  reverse,  the  arms' of  Philadelphia,  with  the 
legend,  '  The  gift  of  the  corporation  of  the  city  of  Philadelphia.'  "* 

I  have  before  me  the  commission  of  William  Thompson,  Esquire,  as 
captain  of  a  troop  of  light  horse  in  the  first  battalion  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  regiment,  in  the  pay  of  this  province,  given  under  the  hand  and 
seal  of  Lieutenant-Governor  Deiiny,  at  Philadelphia,  the  fourth  day  of 
May,  1758. 

"  On  the  7th  of  October,  1763,  at  the  close  of  the  war  between  Great 
Britain  and  France,  in  America,  the  King  of  Great  Britain  issued  his 
proclamation,  testifying  his  sense  and  approbation  of  the  conduct  and 
bravery  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his  armies,  and,  to  reward  the 
same,  commanded  and  empowered  the  Governors  of  his  three  new 
colonies,  and  all  others  the  Governors  of  the  several  provinces  of  the 
continent  of  North  America,  to  grant,  without  fee  or  reward,  to  such 
reduced  officers  as  had  served  in  North  America  during  the  war  then 
lately  preceding,  and  to  such  private  soldiers  as  then  had  been,  or  should 
afterwards  be,  disbanded  in  America,  and  were  actually  residing  there, 
and  should  personally  apply  tor  the  same,  the  following  quantities  of 
land,  subject,  at  the  expiration  of  ten  years,  to  the  same  quit-rents  as 
other  lands  were  subject  to  in  the  provinces  in  which  they  should  be 
granted,  and  also  subject  to  the  same  conditions  of  cultivation  and  im 
provement :  viz.,  to  every  person  having  the  rank  of  field-officer,  5000 
acres  ;  to  every  captain,  3000  acres ;  to  every  subaltern  or  staff-officer, 
2000  acres ;  to  every  non-commissioned  officer,  200. acres;  and  to  every 
private  man,  50  acres  5  which  proclamation  was  transmitted  by  the 
King  of  Great  Britain  to  his  several  Governors  in  North  America,  and 
by  them  published,  in  order  to  give  full  information  of  this  gracious 
decree.  In  consequence  of  this  information,  a  number  of  the  officers  of  the 
three  Pennsylvania  battalions  who  served  during  the  war  terminated 
in  1763,  met  in  Lancaster  in  1773,  and  deputed  General  Thompson  to 
locate  the  quantities  of  land  to  which  they  were  severally  entitled,  under 
the  proclamation  of  the  British  king,  in  one  of  the  royal  governments, 
as  they  could  not  be  obtained  in  Pennsylvania  or  any  other  proprietary 
government,  and  to  secure  their  titles  thereto  in  the  usual  manner.  On 
the  16th  of  December,  1773,  an  order  was  made  by  the  Governor  and 

*  Holmes's  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  73  ;  Collections  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society, 
vol.  iii.  pp.  337,  398,  399,  195;  Western  Annals,  pp.  139-146;  Irvine's  Life  of 
Washington,  vol.  i.  pp.  221,  222,  223;  Lewis  and  Clark's  Travels,  p.  66;  Flint's 
Geography,  vol.  i.  p.  395. 


122  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Council  of  Virginia,  pursuant  to  the  before-mentioned  proclamation, 
ordering  that  the  officers  and  soldiers  therein  named  should  be  at  liberty 
to  locate  their  lands  wherever  they  should  desire,  so  as  not  to  interfere 
with  legal  surveys  or  actual  settlements,  and  that  every  officer  should 
be  entitled  to  a  distinct  survey  for  every  thousand  acres,  and  defining 
who  should  be  deemed  settlers.  In  1774  General  Thompson  proceeded 
down  the  Ohio,  with  a  large  number  of  men  to  protect  him  from  the 
Indians,  and,  with  great  expense  and  with  great  danger  to  himself,  made 
surveys  on  the  Salt  Lick  River — then  in  Virginia,  now  in  Kentucky, — 
an  uninhabited  country,  free  of  claims  by  settlement  or  prior  grant— of  a 
large  body  of  land,  and  divided  the  same  into  tracts  sufficient  to  answer 
the  claims  of  the  said  associated  officers.  General  Thompson  received 
a  deputation  from  the  College  of  William  and  Mary — holding  the  office 
of  surveyor-general  in  Virginia — to  make  these  surveys,  and  when  he 
had  completed  the  draught  of  them,  and  had  made  all  the  necessary 
arrangements  with  the  officers  for  the  completion  of  their  titles,  went 
to  Richmond,  Virginia,  in  1775,  for  the  purpose  of  returning  these 
surveys  and  having  them  accepted ;  but  the  previous  condition  was  re 
quired  of  him  that  he  should  take  an  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King  of 
Great  Britain,  which,  as  a  patriot,  and  about  to  take  the  command  of  a 
rifle-regiment,  at  Boston,  to  act  against  the  troops  of  the  British  king, 
he  could  not  possibly  comply  writh:  consequently  the  surveys  could  not 
be  accepted  and  patents  issued."  Thus  he  lost  his  land,  but  kept 
his  honor.  "  General  Thompson  and  many  of  the  officers,  claimants 
under  the  proclamation  of  1763,  serving  in  the  American  armies  in  the 
war  of  our  Revolution,  could  not  prosecute  their  claims  until  after  the 
peace  of  1783,  when  the  survivors  of  them  met,  and,  having  learned 
that  a  law  had  been  passed  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  in  1779, 
declaring  that  all  surveys  made  under  the  royal  proclamation  of  1763 
not  returned  to  the  land-office  thereof  within  twelve  months  after  the 
enactment  of  the  law,  should  be  void  and  forfeited,  and  that  the  lands 
covered  by  their  surveys  had  been  granted  to  other  applicants,  deputed 
Dr.  John  Morgan  to  represent  their  case  to  the  Legislature  of  Virginia, 
for  redress,  either  by  a  repeal  of  this  law,  most  unjust  under  the  circum 
stances  of  their  case,  or  by  the  grant  of  other  lands  as  an  equivalent ; 
but  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Delegates  of  Virginia,  after  fully 
recognizing  the  facts  before  stated,  in  their  report  to  the  House  recom 
mended  the  rejection  of  the  petition  presented  for  the  relief  of  these 
officers,  without  assigning  any  reason  therefor,  and  their  report  \vas 
adopted  by  the  House."* 

The  following  duly  certified  copy  of  the  resolution  and  proceedings 
thereon  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates,  on  the  application  for  relief 
of  the  officers  claiming  lands  under  the  proclamation  of  1763,  establishes 
so  indubitably  the  facts  set  forth  in  the  foregoing  extract  from  their 

*  From  the  Petition  of  "  sundry  officers,  who  served  in  the  British  army  during 
the  war  between  France  and  Great  Britain  which  originated  in  1755,  to  the 
United  States  House  of  Kepresentatves,  February,  1806,  for  a  law  to  authorize 
them  to  locate  their  claims  in  the  western  unsettled  territory  of  the  United  States, 
the  lands  ceded  to  them  by  the  States  being  equitably  thereto  subject."  This  peti 
tion  was  referred,  2d  April,  1806,  to  the  committee  on  public  lands,  who  made  a 
report  on  the  9th  of  that  month,  which  was  read,  agreed  to,  and  the  consideration 
of  the  petition  postponed  indefinitely.  The  petition,  thus  indorsed,  is  before  me* 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  123 

petition  to  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  that  I  insert  it, 
though  thereby  subjecting  the  reader  to  the  repetition  of  somewhat  that 
has  been  already  stated. 

"  Virginia,  General  Assembly,  begun  and  held  at  the  public  buildings, 
in  the  city  of  Richmond,  on  Monday,  the  20th  of  October,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  1783,  being  the  2d  session  of  the  present  General  Assembly. 

"Mr.  Mann  Page  reported  from  the  committee  of  propositions  and 
grievances  that  the  committee  had,  according  to  order,  had  under  con 
sideration  the  memorial  and  petition  of  sundry  officers  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Line,  who  served  in  the  war  which  commenced  in  America  in  the 
year  1755,  to  them  referred,  and  had  agreed  upon  a  report,  and  had 
come  to  a  resolution  thereupon,  which  he  read  in  his  place,  and  after 
wards  delivered  in  at  the  clerk's  table,  where  the  same  was  again  twice 
read  and  agreed  to  by  the  House,  as  followeth  : 

"  It  appears  to  your  committee  that  officers  of  the  State  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  by  Dr.  John  Morgan,  their  Agent,  and  one  of  the  said  officers, 
made  application  in  the  year  1774  to  the  Governor  and  Council  of  Vir- 
giuia  for  leave  and  permission  to  survey  and  lay  off  the  portions  of  land 
which  they  were  respectively  entitled  to,  under  the  proclamation  of  the 
King  of  Great  Britain,  issued  in  the  year  1703:  that  the  Governor  and 
Council  were  of  opinion  that  the  claim  of  the  said  officers  to  lands, 
under  the  said  proclamation,  was  well  founded,  and  a  commission  was 
thereupon  granted  by  the  masters  of  William  and  Mary  College  to 
Captain  William  Thompson,  afterwards  General  Thompson,  of  the 
American  army,  appointing  him  either  a  principal  or  deputy  surveyor, 
for  the  purpose  of  making  the  said  survey  within  this  State,  for  as  much 
land  as  would  answer  the  claims  of  the  said  officers  ;  but  the  disputes 
commencing  about  that  time  between  Great  Britain  and  America,  and 
the  said  Thompson,  from  principles  of  attachment  to  his  country,  re 
fusing  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  the 
said  surveys  were  refused  to  be  received  by  the  surveyor  of  the  county 
wherein  they  were  made,  and  the  said  Thompson  quitted  this  business, 
and  shortly  after  joined  General  Washington  at  the  head  of  a  regiment, 
and  that  most  of  the  said  officers  also  entered  into  the  service  of  the 
United  States : 

"  Besolced,  That  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  committee  that  the  memorial 
and  petition  of  the  said  officers,  praying  that  their  claims  may  be  con 
firmed,  be  rejected. 

"Extract  from. the  Journal. 

"Teste.     J.  PLEASANTS,  Clerk. 

"For  copying  the  above,  100  cents." 

The  following  letters  relate  to  the  survey  of  lands  claimed  under  the 
royal  proclamation  of  1763.  The  first  of  them  is  from  John  Randolph 
of  Virginia. 

"  SIR,— sThe  President  and  Masters  of  our  College  have  delivered  to 
me  the  commission  you  desired.  I  have  inclosed  it  to  you,  by  Mr. 
Tilghman  of  your  Province. 

"  Our  Assembly  has  been  this  day*  dissolved,  on  account  of  a  resolu- 

*  May  25th,  1774.—  Wirfs  Life  of  Patrick  Henry,  p.  113. 


124  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

tion  of  theirs,  in  relation  to  Boston.  They  had  directed  a  fast  to  be 
observed  on  the  first  of  June,  in  hopes  by  that  means  to  avert  the 
danger  impending  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Parliament.  Perhaps  you 
did  not  think,  when  in  Virginia,  we  had  half  so  much  devotion  among 
us  The  Governor  for  their  piety  dissolved  them.  I  hope  you  are 
safely  returned  to  Philadelphia,  and  there  enjoy  your  health  after  your 
fatiguing  journey. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  RANDOLPH.* 

"  Our  newspapers  will  inform  you  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Governor 
with  respect  to  granting  land  to  the  officers,  etc. 

"To  CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  THOMPSON  in  Philadelphia." 

The  next  letter  is  that  of  Dr.,  afterwards  General,  Mercer,  who  was 
killed  in  the  battle  of  Princeton,  written  from 

"FREDERICKSBURG  (VIRGINIA),  9th  June,  1773. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  28th  of  May,  together  with  the  certi 
ficate  I  requested,  came  to  hand  just  now ;  please  to  accept  my  hearty 
thanks  for  your  ready  assistance  in  expediting  that  affair.  The  officers 
this  way  have  been  very  dilatory  as  to  securing  their  lands.  Last  fall 
some  steps  were  attempted  to  be  taken,  but,  I  fear,  to  little  purpose. 
Bullit,  f  who  is  appointed  surveyor  on  the  Ohio,  is  in  no  great  estima- 

*  "John  Randolph  held  the  office  of  the  King's  Attorney-General  for  the 
Colony  of  Virginia.  He  was  a  gentleman  of  the  most  courtly  elegance  of  person 
and  manners,  a  polished  wit,  and  a  profound  lawyer." — WirVs  Life  of  Patrick 
Hemy,  p.  34. 

f  In  1758  the  expedition  against  Fort  Du  Quesne,  which  resulted  in  its  cap 
ture  by  General  Forbes,  was  concerted.  In  the  middle  of  September,  Colonel 
Bouquet  was  detached  with  nearly  2000  men  to  open  a  new  military  road  for-the 
army  advancing  upon  this  celebrated  post  When  more  than  fifty  miles  from 
Fort  Du  Quesne,  he  detached  200  men  under  Major  Grant  to  reconnoitre.  This 
officer  conducted  his  enterprise  with  foolhardiness  and  ill  judgment  truly  aston 
ishing.  Arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  the  fort,  he  posted  his  men  on  a  hill,  sent  out 
a  party  of  observation,  who  burnt  a  house  close  to  the  fort,  and  at  the  dawn  of 
the  next  day  beat  the  reveille,  and  then  sent  an  engineer  to  take  a  plan  of  it,  in 
full  view  of  the  garrison.  Not  a  gun  was  tired,  and  profound  silence  was  main 
tained,  which  the  British  ascribed  to  fear,  and  they  were  betrayed  by  their  arro 
gant  folly  into  a  fatal  security.  A  sudden  and  unexpected  attack  was  made  by 
the  garrison,  rallying  from  the  fort,  on  their  front,  while  the  Indians,  ambushed, 
assailed  their  flanks,  and  they  we.re  completely  routed,  with  terrible  slaughter. 

Captain  Bullit,  detached  by  Major  Lewis,  commander  of  the  Virginia  troops, 
to  protect  the  baggage,  rallied  several  of  the  fugitives,  and  made  a  stand.  Hav 
ing  sent  off  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  baggage,  he  formed  a  barricade  of 
wagons,  and  stationed  his  men  behind  it.  He  displayed  both  courage  and 
judgment — he  suffered  the  Indians  to  get  close  to  his  barricade  before  he  ordered 
his  men  to  fire,  which  they  did  so  fatally  as  to  check  the  savages — but  only  for  a 
moment,  for  after  a  brief  pause  they  again  advanced — then  Bullit  and  his  men 
made  signal  of  their  wish  to  capitulate,  and  moved  forward  as  if  to  surrender, 
and  when  within  eight  yards  of  the  enemy  gave  them  a  most  destructive  volley, 
and  then  charged  with  the  bayonet.  The  savages  fled  terrified,  which  gave 
Bullit  opportunity  to  retreat  to  Colonel  Bouquet's  camp,  which  he  did  rapidly, 
collecting  in  his  march  the  wounded  and  fugitives. 

The  bravery  of  the  Virginia  troops,  and  Bullit's  behavior,  were  much  ad 
mired,  and  he  was  soon  rewarded  with  the  commission  of  Major.* 


*  Irving'a  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.  pp.  283,  284,  285,  286,  and  287. 


OF  GEORGE  BEAD.  125 

tion  with  the  superior  officers,  and  from  thence  'it  happened  that  but  few 
came  in  to  his  proposals,  which  were  to  join  him  early  this  spring  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Scioto,  from  which  boundary  of  the  N *  Govern 
ment  he  proposed  to  look  out  for  and  survey  the  officers'  lands,  down 
wards,  along  the  Ohio.  Colonel  Peachey  and  myself,  with  a  few 
others,  have  agreed  with  one  Heinrich  Taylor,  who  traversed  that 
country  some  years  ago,  to  look  out  for  and  survey  our  claims,  under 
the  authorit}^  of  Bullit,  for  which  services  we  give  one-fifth  of  the  land, 
and  ten  pounds  Virginia  currency,  besides  paying  Bullit's  legal  fees  as 
surveyor.  We  were  induced  to  this  expensive  method  by  the  hazard 
and  many  other  difficulties  attending  this  attempt.  Thus  far  I  had  gone, 
when  Dr.  Walker,  who  knows  more  of  the  country  in  question  than 
any  other  of  my  acquaintance,  informed  me  by  letter  that  the  claims  of 
the  Cherokee  Indians  on  the  Ohio  have  not  yet  been  settled,  and  that 
to  him  it  was  matter  of  doubt  whether  the  Governor  arid  Council  of 
Virginia  would  think  themselves  at  liberty  to  grant  lands.  Hereupon 
I  thought  of  West  Florida,  and  wrote  to  Mr.  James  Wood,  of  Winches 
ter,  who  was  employed  by  Colonel  Washington  and  others  to  locate 
their  claims  in  West  Florida,  to  take  the  proper  steps  for  me  also ;  but 
he  had  Jeft  Winchester,  and  was  on  his.  way  to  Fort  Pitt  before  my 
letter  could  reach  him.  As  soon  as  I  have  any  intelligence  from  Bul 
lit,  Taylor,  or  Mr.  Wood,  I  will  let  you  know.  As  there  are  a  great 
number  of  officers  in  these  middle  colonies  unprovided  for  in  the  lands 
they  claim,  I  should  think  West  Florida  the  most  likely  place  to  secure 
good  lands,  with  the  chance  of  their  being  soon  settled,  under  due 
regulations  of  government.  Should  we  succeed  on  the  Ohio,  our  lands 
will  be  unconnected  with  any  government,  they  lying  without  the 
Northern  government,  and  being  too  remote  from  Virginia  [for  her]  to 
receive  any  advantage  from  them,  so  that  the  people  inhabiting  them 
must  soon  be  in  a  lawless  condition,  and  of  course  property  altogether 
insecure.  The  post  hurries  me  so  that  I  have  only  time  to  assure  you 
that  I  remain,  with  unfeigned  esteem  and  regard,  your  much-obliged 
and  obedient  servant, 

"  HUGH  MERCER. 
"  To  JOSEPH  TILGHMAN,  Junior,  Esquire." 

The  writer  of  the  letter  next  inserted  was  a  colonel,  I  think,  of  one 
of  the  regiments  of  Pennsylvania  that  served  in  the  war  of  1755. 

"CAMP  OX  THE  OHIO,  OPPOSITE  THE  MOUTH  OF  [THE]  SdOTO, 

"  10th  July,  1773. 

"  DEAR  COLONEL, — I  came  out  with  Captain  Thompson  in  order  to  see 
the  lands  surveyed  for  the  Pennsylvania  officers,  and  on  our  passage 
hither  frequently  went  on  shore  with  some  of  our  best  woodsmen  to 
view  the  country,  but  could  find  none  worth  our  notice,  the  bottoms 
being  chiefly  overflowed  at  times,  and  the  lands  back  very  hilly,  [and] 
the  whole  very  ill  watered.  We  have  been  detained  here  several  da\'s, 
waiting  for  some  horses,  which  we  sent  by  land,  in  which  time  we  sent 
out  Mr.  James  Smith  and  some  of  our  best  woodsmen  to  view  the 
country.  They  have  returned,  and  have  been  in  the  country  we  want 


*  Sic  in  the  original  letter. 


126  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

to  be  at;  it  is  called  the  Blue  Lick  country,  and  is  on  the  waters  of  a 
river  called  Kentucky,  and  they  say  it  is  the  finest  country  they  ever 
beheld,  and  [they]  will,  with  their  friends,  come  out  and  settle  in  it 
n«xt  spring,  so  that  I  make  no  doubt  the  land  there  in  one  year  will  be 
as  valuable  as  the  lands  in  Sewickley,  which  are  now  selling  for  twenty 
shillings  per  acre.  We  expected  to  have  met  with  Captain  Bullit  here, 
through  whose  hands  I  understand  the  surveys  must  pass  before  they 
are  accepted ;  but  he  was  gone.  We  sent  a  canoe  with  some  hands  40 
or  50  miles  down  the  river  to  find  his  camp  ;  but  they  returned  unsuc 
cessful,  since  which  we  have  seen  some  Virginians  who  had  been  with 
him,  who  say  he  has  gone  down  as  far  as  the  Falls,  or  Big  Bone  Lick, 
and  won't  return  till  next  spring.  Should  this  be  the  case,  it  would 
greatlv  delay  a  confirmation  of  these  lands  to  us,  and  perhaps  such  a 
change  in  the  government  might  take  place  as  would  entirely  frustrate 
our  expectations.  As  we  have  a  valuable  interest  depending,  I  think 
it  would  be  necessary  for  you,  with  any  of  the  gentlemen  concerned, 
to  make  application  to  the  College  of  Virginia  for  a  commission  to 
Captain  Thompson  to  survey  and  return  these  lands,  which  I  think  may 
be  obtained,  and  which,  for  the  reason  before  mentioned,  I  think  very 
necessary.  I  know  that  several  gentlemen  in  Virginia,  who  have  ob 
tained  grants,  have  also  had  surveyors  of  their  own  nomination,  par 
ticularly  Colonel  Washington,  who  had  Captain  Crawford  appointed, 
and  had  175,000  acres  surveyed,  for  which  he  has  obtained  patents.  I 
beg  you  will  write  to  Colonel  Shippen  and  any  other  of  your  friends 
that  can  be  of  any  service  in  this  case.  I  am,  with  the  greatest  respect, 
Dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  PATRICK  WORK. 

"  COLONEL  JAMES  BURD,  Lancaster  County. 

"Received  8th  August." 

The  last  letter  of  those  in  my  possession  in  relation  to  the  survey 
and  location  of  lands  under  the  proclamation  of  17C3  is  the  following 
one  of  Hugh  Mercer,  from 

"  FREDERICKSBTIRG,  8th  September,  1773. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Captain  Wood  ford,  of  the  late  Virginia  regiment,  in 
tending  for  Philadelphia,  furnishes  me  with  an  opportunity  of  acknowl 
edging  your  favor  of  the  31st  of  August,  which  came  to  hand  yesterday. 
Please  to  accept  my  congratulations  upon  your  safe  arrival  from  Jamaica, 
and  be  assured  that  everything  in  my  power  shall  be  attempted  to  facili 
tate  the  land  affair  in  which  Captain  Thompson  is  engaged.  Unless  our 
Governor  and  Council  can  be  prevailed  upon  to  pass  over  the  usual  forms 
in  granting  patents,  I  fear  we  must  await  the  arrival  of  Captain  Bullit, 
to  give  authority  to  the  surveys.  The  College  of  William  and  Mary  has, 
as  you  have  heard,  the  sole  authority  of  appointing  surveyors,  some  of 
the  fees  [for  surveys]  passing  into  its  funds.  The  person  applying  for 
such  place  is  obliged  to  be  examined  by  the  professor  of  mathematics 
[of  the  college]  and  have  some  gentleman  of  fortune  joined  with  him 
in  a  penal-bond  for  the  faithful  discharge  of  the  office.  As  soon  as  I 
have  sounded  our  great  men  on  the  subject,  you  shall  hear  from  me. 
Captain  Woodford  will  inform  you  of  such  steps  as  have  been  taken 
here  in  prosecution  of  the  same  affair.  We  did  not  agree  in  any  general 
method,  partly  through  want  of  due  information  as  to  the  country  in 
view,  partly  through  want  of  confidence  in  the  surveyor.  Since  Bullit 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  127 

and  those  who  were  to  survey  under  his  authority  set  out  from  this  place 
in  March  last,  we  have  heard  nothing*  of  their  proceedings.  Your  letter, 
and  some  others  from  Pennsylvania,  furnish  all  the  intelligence  we  have 
of  them.  It  gives  me  very  sensible  concern  to  have  done  nothing  in  the 
recovery  of  your  debt  from  Heaton.  Mr.  Jones  can  find  no  traces  of  the 
suit,  or  who  were  securities  or  bail,  such  has  been  for  some  years  past 
the  irregularity  in  the  court  business  of  Frederick  County. 

"  Give  me  leave  now  to  recommend  to  your  good  offices  th*e  gentleman 
who  delivers  you  this,  both  as  a  stranger  in  your  city,  an  old  campaign- 
acquaintance,  and  a  very  particular  friend. 

"  Dear  sir,  your  affectionate,  humble  servant, 

"  HUGH  MERCER. 

"DR.  JOHN  MORGAN,  Philadelphia." 

The  fear  expressed  by  Colonel  Work,  in  his  letter  to  Colonel  Burd, 
that  a  change  of  government  might  frustrate  the  expectations  of  the 
officers  claimants  under  the  royal  proclamation  of  1763,  was  prophetic. 
This  change,  to  which  the  patriotism  of  these  officers  much  contributed, 
lost  them  the  lands  to  which'  they  were  equitably  entitled,  and  they  or 
their  representatives  have  failed  in  every  attempt  to  obtain  indemnity 
for  them.  The  claims  of  their  descendants,  not  upon  the  generosity, 
but  the  justice,  of  their  country,  may  yet  be  heard. 

Colonel  Thompson,  on  the  eve  of  marching  with  his  regiment  of  rifle 
men  for  Boston,  wrote  as  follows  to  Colonel  Montgomery.*  This  letter 
indicates  his  zeal  in  the  good  cause  in  which  he  had  engaged,  and  his 
sensitiveness  when  the  honor  of  his  county  was  affected : 

"  CARLISLE,  80th  June,  1775. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  am  very  sorry  to  inform  you  that  the  companies  asked 
of  this  county  are  not  near  complete,  nor  can  I  say  when  they  will  be 
filled,  as  it  is  in  the  heat  of  harvest,  and  I  doubt  arguments  are  rather 
used  to  keep  the  men  here  than  to  forward  the  service.  But  what  sur 
prises  me  most  is  that  the  resolves  of  Congress  were  not  publicly  made 
known  till  Thursday,  though  the  express  arrived  here  on  Saturday, 
nor  a  single  thing  said  or  done  in  a  meeting  of  upwards  of  seven  hun 
dred  men  under  arms.  Indeed,  Colonel  Magau  has  done  everything  in 
his  power  to  forward  the  business,  but  great  time  was  spent  before  he 
received  an  order.  The  York  County  company  is  quite  complete,  and 
has  received  my  orders  to  march  this  day.  Everything  shall  be  done 
on  my  part,  but  you  must  feel  for  me  when  you  know  that  I  must  march 
without  my  full  complement  of  men  from  this  county.  As  the  honor  of 
the  county  is  greatly  at  stake,  I  hope  in  future  that  all  public  orders 
will  be  directed  to  gentlemen  that  will  do  their  duty  and  not  retard  the 
service  of  the  country  by  taking  long  time  in  contriving  the  private 
interest  of  a  few  particular  friends. 

"  1  beg  you  may  mention  these  things  to  Colonel  Wilson.  I  am  cer 
tain  he  will  do  everything  that  is  right,  and  I  hope  the  county  will 
never  be  found  in  the  like  situation  when  orders  of  such  consequence 


So  written  in  the  original  letter. 


128  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"My  best  compliments  to  everybody,  and  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours, 
very  sincerely, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 
"  To  COLONEL  MONTGOMERY." 

He  wrote,  10th  September,  1775,  a  few  weeks  after  he  joined  the 
American  army  before  Boston,  to  his  brother-in-law,  George  Read: 

"I  am  fixed  in  the  most  delightful  spot  in  the  world,  as  I  can,  from 
the  door  of  my  tent,  see  all  our  well-regulated  army  from  Roxbury  to 
Winter  Hill,  and  at  the  same  time  look  down  upon  the  enemies  of  our 
country,  confined  within  the  narrow  bounds  of  Boston  and  Bunker  Hill, 
and  further,  you  may  be  sure,  they  shall  not  pass,  had  they  Lord  North 
and  all  the  troops  in  the  British  pay  to  assist  them.  Our  troops  are  well 
supplied  and  in  high  spirits,  and  long  much  to  come  to  action;  but  I  am 
doubtful  we  shall  have  little  to  do  in  the  fighting  way  this  campaign. 
I  am  very  happy  in  all  my  commanding  officers.  I  always  had  a  high 
esteem  for  the  Commander-in-chief,  and  higher  now  than  ever.  I  am 
every  day  more  pleased  with  General  Lee :  our  country  owes  much  to 
him  ;  and  happy  we  are  that  a  man  of  his  great  knowledge  assists  in 
the  command  of  our  army."* 

"  On.  the  10th  of  November,  1775,  the  British,  taking  advantage  of  a 
high  tide,  landed  from  Boston  at  Lech  mere's  Point.  Colonel  Thompson, 
with  his  riflemen,  and  Colonel  Woodbridge,  with  part  of  his  regiment 
and  part  of  Colonel  Patterson's,  was  ordered  to  attack  them  ;  who 
gallantly  waded  through  the  water,  and  soon  obliged  the  enemy  to  em 
bark  under  cover  of  a  man-of-war,  a  floating-battery,  and  the  fire  of  a 
battery  on  Charlestown  Neck.  We  have  two  of  our  men  dangerously 
wounded  by  grape-shot  from  the  man-of-war,  and  we  are  informed  by  a 
flag,  sent  out  this  day,  that  the  enemy  lost  two  of  their  men."-)-  Gen- 

*  See  the  letter  from  which  the  above  extract  is  made,  in  chapter  ii.  of  the  Life 
of  George  Read,  p.  112. 

f  "BRAINTREE,  12th  November,  1775. 

"A  number  of  cattle  were  kept  at  Lechmere's  Point,  where  two  sentinels 
were  placed.  In  a  high  tide  it  is  an  island.  The  regulars  had  observed  this,  and 
a  scheme  was  laid  to  take  off  the  cattle  which  were  kept  there.  Accordingly, 
last  week  a  number  of  boats  and  about  four  hundred  men  were  sent.  They  landed, 
it  seems,  unperceived  by  the  sentinels,  who  were  asleep;  one  of  whom  they 
killed,  and  took  the  other  prisoner.  As  soon  as  they  were  perceived,  the  cannon 
on  Prospect  Hill  were  fired  upon  them,  and  sunk  one  of  their  boats ;  but  as  soon 
as  the  tide  was  very  high  it  was  difficult  getting  over.  A  Colonel  Thompson,  of 
the  riflemen,  marched  instantly  with  his  men, — and,  though  a  very  stormy  day, 
they  regarded  not  the  tide,  nor  waited  for  boats,  but  marched  over  neck-high  in 
water, — and  discharged  their  pieces,  when  the  regulars  ran  without  waiting  to 
get  off  thefr  stock,  and  made  the  best  of  their  way  to  the  opposite  shore.  The 
general  sent  his  thanks 'in  a  public  manner  to  the  brave  officer  and  his  men." — 
Letters  of  Mrs.  Adams,  wife  of  John  Adams,  pp.  61,  62. 

Colonel  Thompson's  riflemen  are  thus  described  by  Thacher  (Military  Journal  of 
the  American  Revolution,  pp.  37,  38):  "  Several  companies  of  riflemen,  amounting, 
it  is  said,  to  more  than  fourteen  hundred  men,  have  arrived  here  from  Pennsylvania 
and  Maryland,  a  distance  from  500  to  700  miles.  They  are  remarkably  stout 
and  hardy  men ;  many  of  them  exceeding  six  feet  in  height.  They  are  dressed 
in  white  frocks  or  rifle-shirts,  and  round  hats.  These  men  are  remarkable  for 
the  accuracy  of  their  aim,  striking  a  mark  with  great  certainty  at  two  hundred 
yards  distance.  At  a  review,  a  company  of  them,  while  on  a  quick  advance,  fired 
their  balls  into  objects  of  seven  inches  diameter,  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  129 

era!  Washington  adds:  "The  alacrity  of  the  riflemen  and  their  officers, 
on  this  occasion,  did  them  honor,  to  which  Colonel  Patterson's  regiment 
and  some  others  were  equally  entitled,  except  in  a  few  instances;  but 
the  tide  at  that  time  was  so  exceedingly  high  as  to  compel  a  large  cir 
cuit  before  our  men  could  get  to  the  causeway,  by  which  means  the 
enemy,  except  a  small  covering  party,  distant  from  the  dry  land  on  this 
side  near  four  hundred  yards,  had  retreated  or  were  about  to  embark. 
All  the  shot,  therefore,  that  passed  were  at  a  great  distance  ;  however, 
the  men  went  to  and  over  the  causeway  spiritedly  enough."* 

In  March,  1776,  Congress  contemplated  ordering  an  officer  to  take 
command  in  Virginia,  and  General  Washington,  having  heard  that 
Colonel  Thompson  was  spoken  of  for  this  command,  thus  wrote  on  the 
10th  of  this  month  to  Joseph  Reed:  "I  am  of  opinion  that  Colonel 
Armstrong,  if  he  retains  his  health,  spirits,  and  vigor,  would  be  as  fit 
person  as  any  they  could  send  to  Virginia,  as  he  is  senior  officer  to  any 
now  there,  and  I  should  think  could  give  no  offence ;  but  to  place  Colonel 
Thompson  there  in  the  first  command,  would  throw  everything  into  the 
utmost  confusion,  for  it  was  by  mere  chance  that  he  became  a  colonel 
upon  this  expedition,  and  by  a  greater  chance  that  he  became  first  colo 
nel  in  this  army.  To  take  him,  then,  from  another  colony,  and  place  him 
over  the  heads  of  several  gentlemen  under  or  with  whom  he  has  served 
in  a  subordinate  character,  would  never  answer  any  other  purpose  than 
that  of  introducing  endless  confusion.  Such  a  thing  surely  cannot  be 
in  contemplation ;  and,  knowing  the  mischiefs  it  would  produce,  surely 
Colonel  Thompson  would  have  more  sense,  and  a  greater  regard  for  the 
cause  in  which  he  is  engaged,  than  to  accept  of  it,  unless  some  uncom 
mon  abilities  or  exertions  had  given  him  a  superior  claim.  He  must 
know  that  nothing  more  than  having  been  a  captain  of  horse  in  1759 
(I  think  it  was)  did  very  extraordinarily  give  hiai  the  start  he  now  has 
when  the  rank  was  settled  here.  At  the  same  time,  he  must  know  an 
other  fact,  that  several  officers  now  in  the  Virginia  service  were  much 
his  superiors  in  point  of  rank,  and  will  not,  I  am  sure,  serve  under  him. 
He  stands  first  colonel  here,  and  may,  I  presume,  put  in  a  very  good 
and  proper  claim  to  the  first  brigade  that  falls  vacant;  but  I  hope  more 
regard  may  be  paid  to  the  service  than  to  send  him  to  Virginia. "f 

Colonel  Thompson  was  not  appointed  to  this  command  in  Virginia, 
and  it  does  not  appear  that  he  sought  it.  The  objection  that  his  supe 
riors  more  than  twenty  years  before  in  a  different  service  might  refuse 
to  serve  under  him,  was,  I  suppose,  not  without  foundation.  Questions 
of  rank  embarrassed  General  Washington  throughout  the  Revolutionary 
war,  and  impeded  the  public  service.  The  sensitiveness  of  officers  in 
regard  to  rank,  when  just  and  reasonable,  ought  to  be  respected ;  but 
whether  it  would  have  been  just  and  reasonable  for  officers  in  service  in 
Virginia  to  have  refused  to  serve  under  Colonel  Thompson,  had  the 
command  there  been  conferred  upon  him,  may  be  questioned.  When 
it  is  added  that  he  owed  his  colonelship  of  his  rifle-regiment  to  chance, 

and  fifty  yards.  They  are  now  stationed  on  our  lines,  and  their  shot  have  frequently 
proved  fatal  to  British  officers  and  soldiers  who  expose  themselves  to  view,  even 
at  more  than  double  the  distance  of  a  common  musket-shot." 

*  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.  pp.  156,  157;  Diary  of  the  American 
Kevolution,  vol.  i.  p.  167. 

f  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.  pp.  309,  310. 


130  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  his  rank  of  second  colonel  in  the  American  army  to  the  start  given 
him  by  his  captaincy  of  horse  in  1759,  I  am  sure  this  is  the  language 
of  prejudice  or  ignorance.  The  reader  of  this  notice  has  evidence  that 
he  was  a  man  of  ability,  energy,  and  courage,  and  so  zealous  in  the 
cause  of  his  country  as  to  sacrifice,  to  his  sense  of  his  duty  to  her,  lands 
which  would  have  been  a  princely  estate  to  his  children,  to  which  he 
had  acquired  an  inchoate  title  by  months  of  exposure,  hardship,  and 
danger  in  a  wilderness.  He  was  trained  to  be  a  soldier  in  the  same 
profession  which  Washington  had  not  disdained,  and  which  did  much 
to  qualify  him  for  the  command  of  our  armies,  and  was  high  in  the  con 
fidence  of  his  brother  officers  in  the  war  which  began  betwreen  England 
and  France  in  1755.  Well  and  widely  known,  as  I  have  described  him, 
in  Pennsylvania  and  other  colonies,  it  seems  not  unreasonable  to  ascribe 
his  military  preferment  not  to  chance,  but  to  his  merits. 

"  Besides  the  eight  brigadiers  first  appointed,  Congress  had,  10th  Jan 
uary,  1776,  appointed  two  others,  Arnold  and  Frye,  and  on  the  1st 
March  of  that  year  they  elected  six  more,  namely,  John  Armstrong, 
William  Thompson,  Andrew  Lewis,  James  Moore,  Lord  Stirling,  and 
Robert  Howe;  they  at  the  same  time  ordered  General  Thompson  to 
New  York,"  and,  as  he  took  rank  of  Stirling  in  the  order  of  appointment, 
the  command  there  consequently  devolved  upon  him.  He  arrived  in 
New  York  on  the  20th  of  March,  and  assumed  the  command  in  that 
city,  which  he  retained  till  ordered  to  join  the  expedition  to  Canada. 
He  embarked  for  Albany  with  four  regiments  under  his  command  on 
the  21st  of  April. 

Upon  the  illness  of  General  Thomas,  which  ended  in  his  death,  the  com 
mand  of  the  American  army  in  Canada  devolved  upon  General  Thomp 
son.  He  ordered  Colonel  St.  Clair  to  attack  the  British  at  Three  Rivers ; 
but  this  officer,  finding  the  enemy  too  strong  for  him,  halted  for  a  rein 
forcement.  General  Sullivan  then  arrived  and  assumed  the  command  of 
the  American  army,  and  ordered  General  Thompson  to  reinforce  St.  Clair 
with  thirteen  or  fourteen  hundred  men,  take  the  command  of  the  whole 
force,  and  attack  the  enemy  at  "Three  Rivers."  The  plan  of  attack 
was  judicious,  and  it  was  made  and  supported  bravely,  <(  but,  requiring 
the  concurrence  of  too  many  circumstances,  failed,"  and  General  Thomp 
son  was  not  only  defeated,  but  taken  prisoner.  A  full  account  of  this 
attack  and  its  result,  so  unfortunate  for  General  Thompson,  who  was 
made  prisoner,  is  given  in  the  third  chapter  of  the  Life  of  George  Read, 
to  which  the  reader  is  referred.* 

General  Thompson  was  not  exchanged  until  the  year  1780. f  .In  the 
beginning  of  1777  General  Thompson  was  with  his  family,  his  zeal  for 
the  American  cause  undiminished  by  his  recent  misfortune,  impatient 
to  be  restored  by  exchange  to  active  service,  and  his  sound  judgment 

*  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.  pp.  318,  319,  365. 

f  "  1780,  October  20. — It  has  long  boon  the  desire  of  General  Washington  to 
make  some  arrangement  with  General  Clinton  for  an  exchange  of  prisoners,  but 
many  difficulties  have  attended  to  prevent  the  accomplishment  of  the  object.  A 
partial  exchange  has  now  been  effected.  Major-General  Lincoln,  who  was  taken 
at  Charleston,  has  been  exchanged  for  Major-General  Phillips,  captured  at  Sara 
toga.  General  Thompson  and  a  number  of  other  officers  who  have  long  been  pris 
oners  are  also  liberated  by  exchange." — Thacher's  Military  Journal  oj 'the  American 
Revolution,  p.  283. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  131 

and  long1  experience  exercised  in  BU££6St!ng  remedies  for  defects  in  that 
important  department  of  the  army,  the  commissariat,  and  prevention  of 
evils  lie  apprehended,  as  appears  by  the  following  letter  to  James  Wil 
son,  the  eminent  lawyer,  statesman,  and  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

"CARLISLE,  29th  January,  1777. 

"DEAR  WILSON, — A  quartermaster  and  commissary  is  much  wanted 
at  Carlisle,  and  indeed  in  every  town  where  the  militia  pass  through. 
Wagons  are  taken  up  at  will  by  the  officers  at  a  very  great  expense, 
many  not  half  loaded,  and  much  longer  detained  in  the  service  than 
there  is  occasion  for  them.  The  troops  kept  at  taverns  at  two  shillings 
and  three  pence  per  day,  when  rations  may  be  found  them  for  one  shil 
ling  and  two  pence.  I  clearly  see  there  is  a  loss  to  the  public  of  one 
hundred  per  cent,  for  want  of  those  officers,  besides  the  desertion  of 
troops  on  their  inarch. 

"  But  what  alarms  me  most  is  that  the  high  price  of  whisky  at  this 
time  induces  the  distillers  to  purchase  up  all  the  wheat  they  can  get, 
and  I  am  certain  every  bushel  of  wheat  in  the  country  will  be  wanted 
before  next  full.  Indeed,  I  have  my  doubts  that  bread  will  be  a.  very 
scarce  article,  and  the  army  be  in  want,  without  care  is  taken  imme 
diately  to  buy  up  all  the  wheat  that  can  be  got  in  the  country.  Some 
time  since  I  wrote  to  the  commissary-general  to  appoint  John  Davis, 
Jr.,  his  deputy,  with  orders  to  purchase  all  the  provisions  he  could  get 
in  the  counties  of  York  and  Cumberland  ;  and  I  also  wrote  to  General 
Mifflin  to  appoint  a  deputy  to  purchase  forage,  etc.,  and  nientioned  Mr. 
Stevenson,  but  have  received  no  answer.  Grain  is  now  fifty  per  cent, 
higher  than  when  I  wrote,  and  I  am  almost  sure  it  will  be  one  hundred 
per  cent,  higher  before  the  1st  of  April.  I  know  the  general  officers  in 
every  department  have  been  so  much  employed  lately  that  it  is  impos 
sible  for  them  to  think  of  anything  but  what  is  immediately  wanted  for 
the  army.  I  think  as  those  matters  [I  have  mentioned]  are  so  essential 
towards  carrying  on  the  next  campaign,  a  hint  from  Congress  to  have 
people  appointed  to  do  this  duty  will  be  absolutely  necessary,  and  also 
to  direct  our  council  of  safety  to  issue  their  order  forbidding  the  distilling 
of  wheat  within  this  State;  and  perhaps  the  like  order  to  the  back 
counties  of  Virginia  and  Maryland  may  not  be  amiss. 

"I  was  told  that  part  of  General  Armstrong's  business  up  the  coun 
try  was  to  establish  magazines  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  but 
have  not  learned  that  anything  is  yet  done  in  that  way. 

"The  bearer  waits.  I  shall  write  you  more  fully  in  a  day  or  two 
(your  Mrs.  Wilson  and  family  are  well),  and  am.  dear  sir,  yours, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"COLONEL  WILSON."* 

The  change  of  residence  which  it 'appears  by  the  letter  of  General 


*  "  When  military  movements  were  first  made,  Mr.  Wilson,  then  resident  in 
Carlisle,  was  chosen  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  militia  raised  in  the  count}'  of 
Cumberland.  He  acted  in  that  capacity  when  occasion  demanded  his  services, 
and  the  public  stores  and  magazines  in  Carlisle  were  committed  to  his  charge; 
but  he  was  never  in  active  service,  owing,  probably,  to  his  very  frequent  civil 
appointments." — Life  of  Wilson — Biography  of  the  'Signers  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  vol.  iii.  p.  262. 


132  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Thompson,  next  presented  to  the  reader,  he  thought  of,  did  not  take 
place. 

"  CARLISLE,  26th  September,  1778. 

"  MY  DEAR  BROTHER, — I  have  been  informed  that  there  is  an  excellent 
grass-farm  to  be  sold  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wilmington,  and,  as  I  in 
tend  leaving  this  part  of  the  country,  would  wish  to  fix  on  some  healthy 
spot  near  you.  I  have  advertised  a  few  tracts  of  land  for  sale,  and  can, 
I  believe,  without  touching  on  the  best  part  of  my  lands,  raise  ten  thou 
sand  pounds,  which  I  would  wish  to  lay  out  on  some  pleasant  situation 
near  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  A  grass-farm  I  like  the  best.  Write 
if  such  a  place  can  be  got,  and  I  will  take  Mrs.  Thompson  down  to  see 
it.  She  now  writes  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  her  letter  is  herewith  inclosed. 
My  best  compliments  wait  on  Mrs.  Read,  your  dear  Polly,  the  boys, 
and  all  my  New  Castle  friends,  and  am,  dear  George,  your  very  affec 
tionate,  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"Hon.  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle/' 

He  announces,  in  the  letter  which  follows,  his  safe  return,  with  Mrs. 
Thompson,  to  their  home — from  a  visit,  I  suppose,  to  their  friends  in 
New  Castle. 

"  CARLISLE,  6th  September,  1779. 

"  MY  DEAR  BROTHER, — We  got  safe  home  yesterday,  and  found  the 
family  well,  and  house  clean,  and  everything  in  good  order,  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  Mrs.  Thompson. 

"Poor  Mrs.  Biddle  and  Miss  Abby  we  met,  and  brought  back  with 
us.  She  is  in  very  great  distress,  indeed,  but  we  shall  do  everything 
to  relieve  her,  in  our  power,  and  hope  a  few  days  will  in  some  measure 
restore  her  peace  of  mind. 

"  The  bearer,  Mr.  John  Holmes,  uncle  of  Parson  Thomson,  is  going  in 
quest  of  the  Reverend  Mr.  Rankin,  to  be  the  pastor  of  our  parish,  and,  as 
my  salvation  is  a  little  interested  in  the  appointment,  I  would  be  glad 
to  know  the  character  of  the  man,  and  how  far  you  think  him  capable 
of  the  task.  As  to  his  preaching,  I  don't  care  so  much  about  it,  pro 
vided  he  is  a  gentleman,  and  a  man  of  honor,  and  has  lived  in  charity 
with  the  world.  Tell  Holmes  what  you  know  of  the  man,  and,  if  you 
have  time,  write  me  a  line. 

"  Mrs.  Thompson,  and  the  family,  and  Mrs.  Biddle,  join  in  love  to 
you,  and  Mrs.  Read,  and  all  our  New  Castle  friends,  with,  dear  George, 
your  very  affectionate 

11  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

It  appears  by  this  letter  that  General  Thompson  was  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church,  and  was  interested  and  engaged  in  the  business  of 
his  parish.  He  writes  on  the  all-important  relation  of  a  pastor  to  his 
people  with  sprightliness,  but  not,  it  seems  to  me,  with  levity,  which 
would  be  unbecoming  such  a  subject.  How  true  to  nature  was  it  that 
the  veteran  soldier  should  desire  the  same  qualifications  in  the  parson 
of  his  parish  that  he  once  valued  in  the  chaplain  of  his  regiment !  But 
he  did  not  think  lightly  of  the  pastoral  charge,  for  he  calls  it  a  task, — that 
is,  in  the  connection  in  which  he  uses  this  word,  a  charge,  grave,  solemn, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  133 

and  responsible, — and  deems  an  essential  qualification  for  it  to  be  the 
grace  which  will  survive  hope,  and  even  faith — charity. 

In  1779  occurred  the  affair  of  "  Fort  Wilson,"  as  it  was  called.  There 
were  then  two  parties  in  Pennsylvania,  the  Constitutionalists,  who  ap 
proved  and  sustained  the  then  existing  constitution,  and  the  Repub 
licans,  who  reprobated  it  as  wanting-  the  checks  necessary  to  guard 
against  abuses  of  power.  James  Wilson  was  of  the  Republican  party, 
and  a  leader  of  it.  The  people  were  suffering  from  a  depreciated  cur 
rency,  injuriously  affecting  them  in  the  every-day  transactions  of  life, 
and  unprincipled  demagogues  persuaded  them  that  the  ills  they  suffered 
were  caused  by  merchants,  who  monopolized  goods,  and  lawyers,  who 
screened  tories  from  punishment,  Wilson  was  especially  obnoxious. 
In  September  a  committee,  appointed  by  a  town-meeting,  regulated  the 
price  of  rum,  salt,  and  other  articles.  Robert  Morris,  Blair  McClen- 
achan,  and  other  merchants  had  quantities  of  these  commodities  in  their 
stores,  which  they  refused  to  sell  at  the  prices  fixed  by  the  regulation. 
On  the  4th  of  October  (1779)  they,  with  Mr.  Wilson  and  others,  were 
threatened  in  placards  posted  in  different  parts  of  Philadelphia,  and 
resolved  to  defend  themselves  in  his  house,  a  large  and  old-fashioned 
edifice,  at  the  corner  of  Third  and  Walnut  Streets,  to  which  they  with 
drew,  having  supplied  it  with  arms,  but  having  only  a  small  quantity 
of  ammunition.  The  house  was  quickly  attacked  by  a  fierce  mob  of 
two  hundred  armed  men,  having  two  cannons,  and  commanded  by  one 
Mills,  a  captain,  of  North  Carolina,  a  tailor,  a  ship-joiner,  and  one  Bon- 
ham,  a  man  of  no  character,  but  what  calling  he  disgraced  is  not  men 
tioned.  They  fired  upon  the  house,  and  their  fire  was  returned.  With 
a  sledge  and  cross-bar  from  a  blacksmith's  shop  near,  they  had  almost 
forced  the  front  door  of  the  house,  when  the  first  troop  of  city  cavalry 
came  to  the  rescue  and  compelled  the  mob  to  retreat.  As  the  "troop" 
freely  used  their  swords,  many  of  the  mob  were  severely  wounded,  and 
one  "man  and  a  boy  killed.  Of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Wilson,  Captain 
Campbell  was  killed,  and  Messrs.  Mifflin  and  Samuel  C.  Morris  wounded. 
Among  the  party  in  Mr,  Wilson's  house  wrere  Messrs.  Wilson,  Burd, 
Robert  Morris,  George  and  Daniel  Clymer,  Allan  McLane,  Sharp  Du- 
laney,  George  Campbell,  Paul  Beck,  and  Generals  Mifflin,  Nicholls,  and 
Thompson.  Being  advised  to  leave  Philadelphia  for  a  short  time,  they 
withdrew  to  a  house  on  the  Schuylkill,  but  upon  consultation  returned 
at  once  to  the  city,  walked  about  its  streets  as  they  found  it  necessary 
or  agreeable  to  do,  and  attended  the  funeral  of  their  unfortunate  friend 
Campbell  in  a  body.* 

The  last  of  General  Thompson's  letters  which  I  have  found  among 
Mr.  Read's  papers  was  written  a  few  months  before  his  decease.  De 
clining  health,  which  warned  him  that  the  "  inevitable  hour"  of  death 
was  near,  could  not  subdue  his  constitutional  buoyancy  and  cheerful 
ness,  which  still  discover  themselves  in  this  letter. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  13th  March,  1781. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — This  will  be  handed  you  by  Mr.  Patterson,  a 
young  gentleman  who  is  on  his  way  to  Chester  to  study  under  Dr. 

*  Life  of  James  Wilson. — Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  vol.  iii.  pp.  281-286. 


134  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Samuel  Smith.  His  father  is  a  very  particular  friend  of  mine,  and, 
should  he  make  any  stay  in  New  Castle,  I  beg  leave  to  recommend 
him  to  your  friendly  notice. 

"I  came  to  this  place  to  endeavor  to  settle  with  the  public  for  my 
pay  since  I  was  made  a  prisoner.  How  far  I  shall  succeed  I  know  not, 
but  think  it  a  duty  I  owe  my  family  to  try  the  matter  with  them,  as 
they  are  indebted  to  me  about  £2500 — good  money,  not  paper. 

"I  have  been  laid  up  with  the  rheumatism  for  upwards  of  a  year, 
and  have  for  this  six  weeks  or  two  months  past  been  very  ill,  with  a 
pain  in  my  breast  and  a  bad  cough.  I  with  some  difficulty  got  down 
[here],  and  continue  unwell,  though  much  better  than  I  was  a  few  days 
ago,  and  hope  to  be  restored  to  a  good  state  of  health. 

"  Indeed,  I  have  at  times  some  doubts  that  I  am  going  to  take  a  trip 
to  another  country  ;  but  I  believe  these  fears  are  such  as  generally  attend 
a  thin  diet  and  a  still  thinner  drink  of  small-beer  and  barley-water.  I 
thought  of  paying  you  and  the  parson  a  visit,  but  believe  I  must  defer 
it  till  May,  when  I  intend  to  see  you  on  my  way  to  the  sea-shore.  If  I 
can  prevail  upon  Mrs.  Thompson  to  leave  her  little  family,  I  shall  bring 
her  down  with  me.  I  left  everybody  well  at  home,  and  George  [Ross] 
and  all  friends  well  in  Lancaster.  Mark  Bird  is  here,  and  says  all  our 
friends  in  Heading  are  in  good  health. 

"My  best  compliments  wait  on  Mrs.  Read,  Miss  Polly,  and  the  boys, 
and  am,  my  dear  brother, 

"Yours  very  affectionately, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

General  Thompson  died  on  his  farm,  near  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania, 
September  3d,  1781,  and  was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  John's 
Church  (Protestant  Episcopal)  in  that  town, — "  his  grave  being  within 
the  inclosed  burying-place  therein  of  the  family  of  Judge  Hamilton, 
deceased,  whose  wife  was  related  to  him.  It  is  covered  by  a  marble 
slab,  in  good  preservation,  but  somewhat  discolored,  in  the  lapse  of 
more  than  seventy  years,  by  the  weather." 

It  bears  this  inscription  : 

"GENERAL  WILLIAM  THOMPSON, 

who  departed  this  life 

September  3d,  1781, 

Aged  45  years"* 

In  the  "Diary  of  the  American  Revolution"  (by  Frank  Moore),  vol. 
ii.  pp.  476,  477,  may  be  found  the  following  obituary  notice  of  General 
Thompson : 

"September  4th,  1781. — Yesterday,  at  his  seat,  near  Carlisle,  Penn 
sylvania,  died  General  William  Thompson.  Those  who  knew  his  virtues 
will  remember  and  mention  his  character  with  esteem.  At  the  com 
mencement  of  the  present  war  he  took  an  active  and  distinguished  part 


*  Extract  from  a  letter  of  F.  Watts,  Esquire,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  to  An 
drew  C.  Gray,  Esquire,  New  Castle,  Delaware,  May  10th,  1858.  The  author 
begs  leave  to  thank  these  gentlemen  for  this  information. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  135 

in  the  cause  of  liberty.  Recommended  to  Congress  by  his  spirit  and 
military  knowledge,  by  his  great  popularity,  and  his  zeal  for  the  interest 
of  freedom,  he  was  appointed  by  that  honorable  body  to  the  command 
of  the  first  regiment  raised  in  Pennsylvania.  When  he  joined  the  army 
before  Boston,  the  rank  of  first  colonel  in  the  service  was  assigned  to 
him.  At  the  siege  of  that  place,  intrepidity,  generosity,  hospitality, 
and  manly  candor  rendered  his  character  the  object  of  uniform  admira 
tion  and  esteem. 

"  Fortune,  which  had  hitherto  smiled  upon  him,  forsook  him  at  a 
moment  when  she  promised  to  lift  him  to  the  pinnacle  of  fame.  In  a 
gallant  attack  upon  the  British  at  '  Three  Rivers,'  in  Canada,  in  1775, 
he  was  made  a  prisoner.  His  captivity  was  long  and  imbittered  ;  his 
sensibility,  generous  and  keen,  was  chiefly  wounded  by  the  reflection 
that  he  was  precluded  from  signalizing  himself  in  the  defence  of  his 
country. 

"His  death  is  considered  a  subject  of  universal  concern  and  lamenta 
tion.  His  funeral  was  the  most  respectable  that  has  ever  been  known 
in  Carlisle.  In  the  great  number  that  assembled  on  the  melancholy 
occasion,  scarcely  was  there  one  person  to  be  found  who  did  not  drop  a 
tear  to  the  memory  of  the  soldier,  the  patriot,  and  the  friend." — Pennsyl 
vania  Packet,  September  4th  ;  Gainers  Mercury,  September  10th,  1781 ; 
and  see,  also,  Th acker's  Military  Journal,  p.  326. 

For  Letters  of  General  Thompson,  see  Force's  "  American  Archives," 
vol.  vi.  (4th  series),  1776,  pp.  448,  593,  627,  628,  684. 


DR.  KEARSLEY'S  DREAM. 

"CARLISLE,  January  26,  1777. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Last  Monday  night,  the  20th  January,  1777,  be  it  re 
membered,  I  went  to  bed  at  ten  o'clock,  and  as  it  is  common  with  me  to 
order  [the]  servant  to  cover  up  the  unconsumed  part  of  the  fire  with 
ashes,  after  I  had  seen  it  done.  A  little  before  daybreak  I  was  awakened 
by  an  extraordinary  dream,  viz.,  that  I  was  then  in  company  with  our 
old  friend  John  Ross,  lawyer.  As  it  then  made  a  great  impression  on 
my  mind,  it  is  easy  for  you  to  conceive  the  emotions  I  felt  on  the  occa 
sion,  nor  will  you  be  surprised  when  I  tell  you  I  jumped  directly  out  of 
bed,  and  by  the  gleaming  light  of  my  fire,  which  had  forced  its  way  in 
a  small  flame  through  the  ashes,  I  imagined  I  saw  his  figure,  on  which, 
without  any  fear,  1  looked  with  great  earnestness.  At  this  instant  the 
fire  burst  forth  into  a  blaze,  insomuch  that  I  could  see  him  very  dis 
tinctly,  with  a  paper  in  his  hand,  standing,  in  a  speaking  attitude,  when 
he  began,  and  thus  addressed  me: 

"'  MY  DEAR  SIR, — You  and  I,  in  the  state  of  body  you  are  now  in, 
ever  lived  in  the  greatest  harmony  and  the  best  friendship.  I  have  been 


136  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

removed  from  you  by  the  wise  and  kind  providence  of  God  to  a  place 
of  peace  and  everlasting  felicity,  while  you  are  yet  to  remain  some  time 
in  a  world  of  trouble  and  great  confusion,  where  you  will  hear  of  wars 
and  rumors  of  wars,  accompanied  with  pestilence,  already  begun,  and 
famine,  which  will  ensue,  and  continue  till  your  sins  abate.  These, 
my  friend,  are  the  scourges  of  sin,  the  [vengeance]  of  God  poured  forth 
on  the  American  [people]  for  their  ingratitude,  that  superlative  of  sin 
which  the  Almighty — His  laws  just,  perfect,  and  immutable — always 
punishes.'  Continued  he,  'Lest  you  should  doubt  the  authority  of  what 
I  now  say,  I  pray  you  to  take  this  paper,'  which  he  held  forth  in  his 
hand,  '  and,  to  convince  you  that  I  have  really  made  an  appearance  to 
you,  behold  my  signature — the  initials  of  my  name  and  profession  in 
your  world.  These  are  placed  first  to  every  line,  and  I  leave  them  with 
you,  as  my  steward,  to  be  shown  to  my  friends,  but  particularly  to 
General  Thompson,  whom  Hove,  and  wish  to  hint  something  not  unlike 
to  what  with  you  is  termed  prophecy.''  On  thus  speaking  these  words, 
he  disappeared,  leaving  the  matter  behind  him.  In  discharge  of  my 
duty  to  the  above  commission,  [and]  conceiving  it  also  my  duty  to  you 
to  discharge  so  important  a  trust,  I  send  you  a  copy,  and  whenever  you 
will  do  me  the  favor  of  a  visit  you  may  see  the  original.  I  am,  my  dear 
sir,  with  my  compliments  to  you  and  Mrs.  Thompson  and  family,  your 
very  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  KEARSLEY. 
"A  TKUE  COPY. 

"  '  Inspired  to  leave  with  you,  my  trusty  friend, 
Old  counsels,  which  I  dare  not  wish 'to  mend. 
Honor  to  you — disgrace  to  C-ngress'  laws, 
Nor  can  their  terrors  make  you  join  their  cause, 
Nor  yet  their  prisons  make  you  love  their  laws : 
Eight  well  we  lived  when  justice  ruled  the  land, — 
O  know  you're  at  the  would-be-kings'  command,* 
Sent  forth  to  fightf  as  tyrants  rule  their  slaves, — 
Still  will  Britain  rule  both  land  and  waves. 
Lawyer  I  was,  and  Magna  Charta  knew, — 
Averse  to  riot, — studied  to  be  true. 
When  just  laws  ceased,  Heaven  kindly  gave  her  call, 
You  have  felt, — I  now  foretell, — so  will  all. 
Ever-gracious  Lord  !  avert  the  dreadful  stroke  ! 
Repent,  ye  ingrates, — nor  your  Gk>d  provoke  !' 

"  'Agreeable  to  our  many  conversations  about  eternity  that  the  first  of 
us  who  died,  if  permitted,  should  visit  the  other, — by  the  will  of  the 
Omnipotent  who  governs  the  universe,  I  am  sent  to  comfort  you  under 
your  great  and  severe  persecutions.  Not  only  to  comfort  you,  but  to 
redeem  the  laud  which  is  now  overwhelmed  with  trouble,  a  sure  conse 
quence  of  sin,  a  continuance  in  which  will  be  misery,  destruction,  and 
death.  Believe,  0  ye  sinners,  believe  and  repent !  The  sins  of  in 
gratitude,  willful  and  corrupt  perjury,  persecution  and  cruelty,  with  the 
sin  of  falsehood,  [con]tinually  propagated  to  inflame  and  [mislea]d  the 
ignorant,  has  so  provoked  the  vengeance  of  Heaven  that  the  Almighty 

*  All  the  American  noblesse  want  to  be  kings  ;  they  are,  properly,  would-be- 
kings. 

f  By  force. 


OF   GEOEGE   READ.  137 

is  come  forth  against  you  with  a  flaming  sword  to  burn  you  up,  and  cut 
you  off;  and  I  am  risen  from  the  dead  to  give  you  this  last  most  solemn 
warning.  Moses  and  the  prophets  have  admonished  former  generations, 
and  some  have  believed  and  been  saved.  But  if  ye  will  not  believe  me 
when  risen  from  the  dead,  horrid  judgments  will  attend  you.' 

"  At  the  era  of  the  Revolution  Dr.  John  Kearsley,  although  other 
wise  a  citizen  of  good  character  and  standing,  became  exposed  to  the 
scoifs  and  insults  of  the  people  by  his  ardent  loyalism :  being  naturally 
impetuous  in  his  temper,  he  gave  much  umbrage  to  the  Whigs  of  the 
day  by  his  rash  expressions.  It  was  intended,  therefore,  to  sober  his 
feelings  by  the  argument  of  tar  and  feathers.  He  was  seized  at  his  own 
door,  in  Front  Street,  a  little  below  High  Street,  by  a  party  of  the 
militia,  and  in  his  attempt  to  resist  them  received  a  bayonet-wound  in 
his  hand.  Mr.  Graydon,  a  by-stander,  has  told  the  sequel.  He  was 
forced  into  a  cart,  and,  amidst  a  multitude  of  boys  and  idlers,  paraded 
through  the  streets  to  the  tune  of  the  Rogue's  March.  The  concourse 
brought  him  before  the  Coffee-House,  where  they  halted ;  the  Doctor, 
foaming  with  indignation  and  rage,  without  a  hat,  his  wig  dishevelled, 
and  himself  bloody  with  his  wounded  hand,  stood  up  in  the  cart,  and 
called  for  a  bowl  of  punch, — when,  so  vehement  was  his  thirst,  he  swal 
lowed  it  all  before  he  took  it  from  his  lips.  '  I  was  shocked,'  says  Gray 
don,  '  at  the  spectacle,  thus  to  see  a  lately  respectable  citizen  so  vilified.' 
It  is  grateful  to  add,  however,  that  they  proceeded  to  no  further  violence, 
— thus  proving  that  a  Philadelphia  mob  has  some  sense  of  restraint.  But 
though  the  Doctor  was  allowed  to  escape  the  threatened  tar  and 
feathers,  the  actual  indignity  so  inflamed  and  maddened  his  spirit  that 
his  friends  had  to  confine  him  for  a  time  as  insane.  He  died  during  the 
war,  a  resident  of  Carlisle."* 

October  6th,  1775. — "The  infamous  Dr.  Kearsley,  of  Philadelphia, 
not  content  with  his  late  triumphal  procession  for  his  enmity  to  his 
county,  has  made  a  further  attempt  to  injure  it,  but  to-day  was,  happily, 
discovered.  Some  letters  of  his  were  intercepted  in  a  vessel  bound  from 
here  to  London,  which  were  filled  with  the  most  villainous  invectives 
and  scandalous  misrepresentations  of  the  first  characters  in  this  country 
and  the  public  proceedings.  This  so  enraged  the  people  in  general  that 
if  it  had  not  been  for  the  humanity  of  some  gentlemen,  who  conducted 
him  to  jail,  he  would  have  been  very  roughly  handled.  He  was  sulky 
as  when  exalted  on  the  cart,  glories  in  the  mischief  he  yet  hopes  to  do 
to  his  country,  and  refuses  to  give  any  satisfaction.  This  ungrateful 
son  of  Galen  has  acquired  a  considerable  fortune  by  his  practice  in 
Philadelphia,  and  in  manufacturing  Keyser's  pills,  which  are  sold  as 
genuine  by  a  certain  Tory  bibliopolist."f 

"Constitutional  Gazette,"  October  14th  and  21st.— "We  hear  that 
Dr.  John  Kearsley  is  sentenced  to  be  imprisoned,  for  a  limited  time, 
in  the  back  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  for  high  crimes  against  his 
country.  "J 

It  is  evident  from  the  "letter"  and  "paper"  that  Dr.  Kearsley  was 
still  insane  when  he  wrote  them.  His  exile  to  Carlisle,  then  a  frontier 


*  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  p.  615. 

f  Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  i.  p.  148. 

I  Ibid.",  p.  148. 

10 


138  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

town  of  Pennsylvania,  though  seemingly  a  punishment,  was,  like  his 
commitment  to  jail,  an  act  of  humanity,  for  his  insanity  would  have 
been  aggravated  by  his  continued  abode  in  Philadelphia. 

John  Ross  was  half-brother  of  Mrs.  Thompson.  General  Thompson, 
I  have  no  doubt,  was  well  acquainted  with  Kearsley,  an  intimate  friend, 
as  he  states,  of  John  Ross.  General  Thompson,  though  he  differed 
from  Kearsley  in  his  political  opinions, — being  a  decided  Whig, — yet, 
generous,  warm-hearted,  and  hospitable,  and  commiserating  his  unhappy 
condition,  I  am  sure,  with  his  family,  was  kind  to  him.  If,  as  is  proba 
ble,  the  insanity  of  the  Doctor  was  only  partial,  and  if,  as  I  infer  from 
his  profession  and  social  position,  he  was  a  well-informed  gentleman,  he 
may  have  been  a  pleasant  guest. 

The  treatment  of  Dr.  Kearsley  by  the  Philadelphia  mob  was  cruel, 
but  provoked  by  bis  imprudent  violence  and  treasonable  act,  which 
palliated  it.  The  foregoing  -particular  narrative  will  give  the  reader 
a  more  lively  idea  of  the  too  frequent  cruel  treatment  of  the  Tories, 
during  the  war  for  independence,  than  do  the  general  histories  of  that 
period.  It  has  been  truly  said  :  "  The  charm  of  biography  is  that  it 
presents  minor  events  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  historian  to  narrate." 
Could  he  stoop  to  them,  he  would  give  liveliness  and  interest  to  his 
pages,  cheaply  purchased  by  a  little  sacrifice  of  the  dignified  march  of 
his  story,  and  save  from  oblivion  facts  very  illustrative  of  the  events 
and  actors  he  describes. 

The  "  letter,"  and  "  paper"  accompanying  it,  of  Doctor  Kearsley,  were 
found  by  me  in  1839,  mislaid,  and  recovered  in  July,  1867,  among  the 
papers  of  George  Read.  The  manuscript,  I  infer  from  its  condition — 
much  worn,  tatteied  somewhat  at  its  sides,  and  separated  where  creases 
were  made  by  its  folds — was  much  sought  for,  handled,  and  read.  The 
words  worn  away  from  the  manuscript  (not  many)  were  easily  supplied 
by  aid  of  the  context,  and  are  within  brackets.* 


NOTICE  OF  ETHAN  ALLEN. 

ETHAN  ALLEN  was  a  man  of  vigorous  but  haughty  and  undisciplined 
mind.  His  treatise  entitled  "  Reason  the  only  Oracle  of  Man,  or  a 
Compendious  System  of  Natural  Religion,"  was  the  first  formal  publi 
cation  in  the  United  States  against  Christianity,  and  was  printed  in 
Bennington,  Vermont,  in  1784.  It  is  characterized  as  "a  crude  and 
worthless  performance"  in  "  American  Biography,"  by  the  writer  of  his 
"  Life,"  in  that  work,  vol.  vi.  p.  349,  who  treats  the  infidel  phases  of  his 
character  with  a  leniency  inexcusable,  but  which  does  not  surprise 
me  in  a  disciple  of  Socinus.  Passages  he  cites  from  Allen's  work,  show 
ing  his  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul  and  a  future  state  of 

*  Thus,  [  ]. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  139 

% 

retribution,  to  disprove  his  having1  held  the  doctrine  of  the  "  metemp 
sychosis,"  fail  to  do  so,  if  this  belief  may  consist  with  this  doctrine. 

Allen  was  taken  prisoner,  September  10th,  1775,  in  an  injudicious 
and  unsuccessful  attack,*  without  orders,  and  with  a  handful  of  men, 
on  Montreal.  He  wished,  it  has  been  conjectured,  to  filch  from  Mont 
gomery  the  credit  of  taking  Montreal,  by  an  exploit  like  that  of  his 
surprise  of  Ticonderoga.  He  was  sent  to  England,  and  treated  with 
great  barbarity. 

He  is  a  hero  of  the  vulgar,  and  I  conjecture  some  of  the  marvellous 
stories  told  of  his  uncouth  manners  and  dress,  feats  of  strength,  and 
indomitable  courage  are  to  be  received  with  some  abatement. 

Besides  being  an  avowed  infidel,  he  held  very  wild  and  ridiculous 
opinions,  among  them  the  Pythagorean  notion  of  "the  transmigration  of 
souls,  saying  "  he  would  live  again  in  a  white  horse." 

He  was  imperfectly  educated,  and  the  author  of  several  pamphlets, 
among  them  the  "  Narrative  of  his  Captivity  ;"  was  remarkable  for  his 
courage  and  fortitude,  and  was  brave,  open,  liberal,  true  to  his  friends, 
and  loyal  to  his  country. 

Happily  for  his  family,  his  wife  was  a  Christian  of  great  piety.  She 
had  carefully  trained  their  daughter  in  the  faith  she  professed.  This 
daughter,  when  about  to  die,  said  to  Allen,  "  Father,  shall  I  believe  in 
the  principles  you  have  taught  me,  or  in  those  my  mother  taught  me  ?" 
He  was  greatly  agitated — paused  a  little  while — and  answered,  "  Be 
lieve  what  your  mother  taught  you." 


O. 
NOTICE  OF  MAJOR  MACPHERSON. 

•  THE  cheerful  and  hopeful  tone  of  his  letter,  in  a  situation  so  dis 
heartening  as  that  of  the  little  band  of  brave  men  with  whom  he  was 
blockading  Quebec,  with  no  protection  from  the  rigor  of  a  Canadian 
winter  but  the  imperfect  one  of  their  tents,  without  artillery  that  could 
make  impression  on  that  strong  fortress,  and  with  the  prospect  of  a 
protracted  blockade  or  the  imminent  perils  of  an  assault,  and  his 
chivalric  weariness  of  the  "  smooths,"  as  he  calls  them,  of  head-quarters, 
and  his  generous  desire  to  share  with  officers  less  fortunate  in  position 
the  "roughs"  of  military  life,  awakened  my  admiration,  and  made  me 
desirous  to  obtain  what  information  I  could  of  the  gallant  Macpherson. 
I  thought  it  probable  that  the  oration  pronounced  by  Provost  Smith, 
of  the  College  of  Philadelphia,  February  19th,  1775,  at  the  desire  of 
Congress  ("Journals,"  vol.  i.  p.  38),  in  honor  of  Montgomery  and  the 
officers  who  fell  with  him,  might  afford  it  at  least  to  some  extent,  and 
that  it  was  probably  in  the  Philadelphia  Library.  A  friend  found  this 
oration  in  a  volume  of  pamphlets,  No.  9115,  there,  and  procured  it  very 

*  Diary  of  the  American  [Revolution,  vol.  i.  pp   152,  158.  159. 


140  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

kindly  for  me.     From  this  and  other  sources*  I  gathered  the  following 
facts. 

The  father  of  Major  John  Macphersonf  was  a  Scotchman,  who  set 
tled  in  Philadelphia,  and  raised  a  large  family  there,  having  previously 
followed  the  sea.  A  brother  of  the  major  was  also  an  officer  in  the 
army  of  the  Revolution,  and  subsequently  a  general  of  Pennsylvania 
militia,  and  son-in-law  of  Bishop  White.  John  was  educated  in  the 
colleges  of  Philadelphia  and  Nassau  Hall.  He  studied  law  with  John 
Dickinson,  and  practiced  it  in  New  Castle,  Delaware.  His  name  appears 
in  an  ancient  docket  in  the  Prothonotary's  office  for  New  Castle  County 
so  often  as  to  show  that  his  practice  was  respectable,  and  upon  Mr. 
Read's  resignation  of  the  office  of  Attorney- General  he  was  an  appli 
cant,  though  unsuccessfully,  for  it.  "  He  was  eminent,"  I  quote  from 
the  oration,  "in  his  profession  when  some  have  scarce  begun  to  think 
of  business  ;  but,  the  love  of  liberty  being  his  ruling  passion,  he  thought 
it  his  duty  to  offer  himself  to  the  service  of  his  country,  and  had  soon 
an  opportunity  of  attaining  the  military  pre-eminence  of  which  he  was 
so  laudably  ambitious.  Enjoying  an  hereditary  bravery,  joined  to  a 
well-cultivated  understanding  and  an  active  spirit,  he  soon  became  the 
bosom  friend  of  Montgomery,  and  his  aid-de-camp,  and  was  intrusted 
with  a  share  in  the  management  of  his  most  important  negotiations, 
and  stood  by  his  side  in  the  attack  on  Quebec.  A  few  days  before  his 
death  he  visited  the  very  spot  where  General  Wolfe  expired,  and  his 
reflections  in  his  letter  on  this  occasion,  as  well  as  in  that  he  left,  sealed 
up,  for  his  father,  in  case  of  his  death  in  the  attack  upon  Quebec,  were 
such  as  became  a  Christian  and  a  soldier.  He  bequeathed  his  little 
fortune  to  his  only  brother,  an  officer  in  the  regular  army."  General 
Montgomery  and  his  aids  were  killed  by  the  discharge  of  a  gun  fired  by 
the  last  of  the  soldiers  who  fled  from  the  battery  they  attacked.  But 
for  this  chance-shot  this  battery  would  have  been  carried  ;  and  even 
after  Montgomery's  death,  had  Colonel  Campbell,  who  succeeded  him 
in  command,  been  an  officer  of  more  enterprise,  he  might  have  taken  it, 
and  supporting  Colonel  Arnold,  who,  with  his  detachment,  had  pene 
trated  the  lower  town,  the  result  have  been,  not  their  surrender,  b^t 
the  capture  of  Quebec.  "  Forgetting  their  foes  in  the  heroes,  their 
adversaries,"  I  quote  again  from  the  oration,  "  gathered  up  their  breath 
less  remains,  and  committed  them  to  kindred  earth,  '  with  pious  hands' 
and  '  honors  meet.'  So  may  your  own  remains,  and  particularly  thine, 


*  One  of  them  a  letter  from  a  gentleman  connected  with  the  family  of  the  late 
General  Macpherson  of  Philadelphia 

f  "September  18th,  1775,  Monday. — This  day  John  McPherson,  Esquire, 
came  to  my  lodgings,  and  requested  to  speak  with  me  [John  Adams]  in  private. 
He  is  owner  of  a  very  handsome  country-seat,  about  five  miles  out  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  father  of  Mr.  McPherson,  aid  to  General  Schuyler.  He  has  been 
captain  of  a  privateer  in  the  last  war,  [and]  made  a  fortune  in  that  way.  He  is 
well  skilled  in  naval  affairs.  Proposed  a  plan  to  bum  all  the  British  men-of-war 
in  America.  Sanguine  of  success. 

"September  25th,  1775,  Monday. — Rode  out  of  town  and  dined  with  Mr. 
McPherson.  He  has  the  most  elegant  seat  in  Pennsylvania,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Schuylkill,  a  clever  Scotch  wife,  and  two  pretty  daughters.  [He]  has  been  nine 
times  wounded  in  battle.  An  old  sea-commander,  [he]  made  a  fortune  by  pri 
vateering.  [Had]  an  arm  twice  shot  off,  and  shot  through  the  leg,  etc." — 
Writings  of  Jo/in  Adams,  Diaiy,  vol.  ii.  pp.  424,  425,  428. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  141 

O  Carleton !  be  honored,  should  it  ever  be  your  fate  to  fall  in  hostile 
fields."* 

In  obedience  to  a  resolution  of  the  Legislature  of  New  York,  in  the 
year  1818  the  remains  of  Montgomery  were  disinterred  at  Quebec,  and 
received  by  his  nephew,  Colonel  L.  Livingston.  Montgomery's  grave, 
within  the  walls  of  Quebec,  was  readily  pointed  out  by  an  old  soldier 
who  witnessed  his  interment.  His  coffin  was  found  entire,  of  rough 
structure,  having  on  its  lid  a  silver  plate,  but  no  inscription  appearing 
upon  it,  and  the  skeleton  within  was  perfect,  except  the  lower  jaw, 
which  was  shot  away.  The  statement  of  Provost  Smith  that  Mont 
gomery  and  all  his  officers  who  fell  with  him  were  buried  "  with  honors 
meet"  is  not  sustained.  General  Carleton  recognized  Montgomery's 
body,  and  gave  it  decent  interment. — he  had  been  his  intimate  friend, — 
but  Macpherson  and  Cheeseman,  his  aids,  were  thrown  into  a  hole,  in 
their  clothes.  Cheeseman,  just  before  the  assault,  dressed  himself  care 
fully,  and  put  into  his  pocket  a  large  sum  in  gold,  thus  hoping,  if  he 
fell,  to  secure  the  decent  sepulture  of  his  remains,  f  General  Mont 
gomery's  remains  were  conveyed  to  Whitehall,  New  York,  and  from 
thence  to  Albany,  the  people  in  all  the  towns  on  the  route  to  that  city 
receiving  them  with  minute-guns,  solemn  music,  tolling  of  bells,  and 
processions,  civil  and  military.  From  Albany  they  were  conveyed,  by 
the  Hudson,  to  the  city  of  New  York,  with  signal  demonstrations  of 
respect  from  the  people  of  the  towns  on  that  river,  and  interred  July  9th, 
near  the  monument  erected  to  his  memory  by  Congress,  in  front  of  St. 
Paul's  Church,  with  solemn  and  imposing  military  and  civil  ceremonials. 
The  narrative  of  this  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  services  of  Mont 
gomery  is  one  of  those  passages  of  history  on  which  all  love  to  dwell. 
In  the  words  of  the  Governor  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  State  of 


*  Some  persons  may  have  thought  Montgomery's  determination  to  attempt 
the  carrying  of  Quebec  by  storm  a  rash  one,  but  all  have  praised  his  plan  of 
attack,  which  was  made  between  four  and  five  A.M.,  December  31st,  1775,  in 
darkness  and  the  bitter  cold  of  a  driving  storm  of  sleet  and  snow.  Two  feints 
or  false  assaults  were  made  on  the  upper  town,  at  St.  John's  and  the  upper  gate, 
and  two  real  attacks  on  the  lower,  under  Cape  Diamond,  at  opposite  sides  of  it, 
Drummond's  wharf  and  the  Pot  Ash. — Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  i.  p. 
329,  etc.;  Bisseffs  Hist,  of  Reign  of  George  III.,  vol.  i.  p.  367,  chap,  xv  ;  Diary 
of  the  Amer.  Revolution,  vol.  i  pp.  185-187. 

"  Congress,  January  9th,  1776,  directed  General  Schuyler  to  appoint  Mr.  John 
Macpherson  a  major  in  one  of  the  battalions  ordered  to  be  raised  out  of  the  troops 
in  Canada,  intelligence  of  his  death  not  having  then  been  received  — Journals  of 
Congress,  1774,  '75,  ;76,  vol.  i.  p.  19. 

f  "  Mr.  James  Thompson,  of  Quebec,  who  was  one  of  the  engineers  at  the 
storming  of  Quebec,  and  assisted  in  burying  General  Montgomery,  also  assisted 
in  disinterring  his  body,  making  an  affidavit  as  to  its  identity.  '  It  was,' he  swore, 
'  taken  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Gobert,  put  in  a  coffin  lined  with  flannel  and  covered 
with  black  cloth.  Rev.  Mr.  Montmollin,  garrison-chaplain,  performed  the  funeral- 
service.  Macpherson  and  Cheeseman,  Aids,  were  buried  in  their  clothes,  without 
coffins.1 

"  Cheeseman  had  a  presentiment  of  his  death,  saying,  with  a  smile,  when  he 
put  the  gold  into  his  pocket,  as  mentioned  above,  'This  will  insure  a  decent 
burial.'  He  was  not  instantly  killed,  but  pressed  forward  [after  he  was  wounded] 
to  the  attack  of  the  battery  ;  but  it  was  a  feeble  effort,  and  he  fell  back  in  a  wind 
ing-sheet  of  snow." — Lossing's  Pictorial  Field-Book  of  the  Revolution,  vol.  i.  p. 
201,  note. 


142  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

New  York,  "  in  rendering  due  honor  to  illustrious  heroes  and  patriots 
we  not  only  reward  distinguished  merit,  but  incite  to  new  achievements 
of  patriotism  and  glory." — Nile^s  Register,  vol.  xiv.  pp.  371-375,  No. 
22,  July  25th,  1818. 


3D. 
PROYOST  SMITH. 

"PROVOST  SMITH,"  wrote  John  Adams,  September,  1774  ("Writ 
ings  of  John  Adams,"  Diary,  vol.  ii.  p.  358),  "soft,  refined,  polite,  insin 
uating,  adulating,  sensible,  learned,  industrious,  indefatigable,  he  had 
art  enough,  and  refinement  upon  art,  to  make  impression  on  Mr.  Dickin 
son  (Quaker)  and  Reed  (Joseph,  Presbyterian).  Smith  is  looking  up 
to  government  for  an  American  Episcopate  and  a  pair  of  lawn  sleeves." 

"In  this  province, — Pennsylvania," — Mr.  Adams  wrote  to  Colonel 
Palmer,  June,  1775,  "indeed,  in  Philadelphia,  there  are  three  persons, 
a  Mr.  W  ,  who  is  very  rich  and  very  timid ;  the  Provost  of  the  col 
lege,  Dr.  Smith,  who  is  supposed  to  be  distracted  between  a  strong 
passion  for  lawn  sleeves  and  a  stronger  passion  for  popularity,  which 
is  very  necessary  to  support  the  reputation  of  his  Episcopal  college; 
and  one  Israel  Pemberton,  who  is  at  the  head  of  the  Quaker  interest: 
these  three  make  an  interest  here  which  is  lukewarm,  but  they  are  all 
obliged  to  lie  low  for  the  present."* 

Between  the  people  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  there  were 
strong  prejudice  and  distrust  in  relation  to  their  supposed  opinions  on 
religion  and  government.  While  the  New  Englanders  believed  the 
gentry  of  the  Middle  and,  to  some  extent,  of  the  Southern  States  in 
clined  to  aristocratic  or  monarchical  polity,  and  those  of  this  class  who 
were  members  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  of  course  maintained  the 
divine  institution  or  expediency,  at  least,  of  Episcopacy,  to  be  in  truth 
the  partisans  of  a  hierarchy,  the  natural  ally  of  despotism,  the  gentry 
thus  misunderstood  looked  with  repugnance  upon  the  Eastern  people, 
and  especially  those  of  Massachusetts,  as  levelers  in  politics  and 
Puritans  in  religion,  who  aimed  at  nothing  short  of  independence.  So 
sensible  were  the  Massachusetts  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress 
of  this  fact  that  they  surrendered  the  lead  (at  least  in  1775)  they  could 
have  fairly  claimed  to  Virginia,  and  suffered  her  to  initiate  the  first 
measures  of  that  body,  fearful  that  their  introduction  by  the  Massachu 
setts  representatives  might,  because  of  this  opinion,  delay  or  defeat 
them.f 

The  imputations  against  Dr.  Smith  of  artfulness,  adulation,  and  am 
bition  to  attain  a  mitre  may  reasonably  be  regarded  as  calumnies  of  the 


*  Writings  of  John  Adams,  vol.  i.  pp   173,  174. 
f  Ibid.,  vol.  i.  pp.  150-152. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  143 

enemies  of  the  Church  of  England  and  the  Provost,  which  Mr.  Adams, 
sharing  their  prejudices,  received  without  sifting  or  examining  them. 

In  the  important  work  of  the  alterations  in  the  "Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  and  Administration  of  the  Sacraments,  and  other  Rites  and 
Ceremonies  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States," 
made  necessary  by  the  revolution  which  severed  them  politically  from 
Great  Britain,  Dr.  Smith  bore  a  conspicuous  part,  and  especially  in  the 
revision  and  publication  of  the  "  Book  of  Common  Prayer"  in  conjunc 
tion  with  Bishop  White.* 

*  Journals  of  the  General  Convention  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp.  495-578. 


144  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


CHAPTER  III. 

Mr.  Read,  January,  1776,  with  his  family — Letter  of  John  Evans,  and  notice  of 
him — Mr.  Road  contemplates  removal  of  his  family  to  Newark — State  and  United 
States  offices  not  thought  incompatible — People  impatient  at  the  inaction  of  the 
American  army  before  Boston,  and  its  cause — Boston  evacuated;  its  condition; 
treatment  of  American  prisoners  there — Tories  who  retired  thence  with  the  Brit 
ish — Instructions  to  Mr.  Read  and  his  colleagues  in  Congress — Colonel  Arnold 
before  Quebec;  his  condition  ;  disposition  of  the  Canadians  towards  the  Ameri 
cans;  character  of  the  habitans — American  army  reinforced — General  Wooster 
takes  command — Ineffectual  fire  opened  upon  Quebec — American  army  de 
spondent  and  insubordinate — Part  thereof  entitled  to  discharge  refuse  to  serve 
longer — Arnold,  dissatisfied,  retires  to  Montreal:  he  commands  there — General 
Thompson  ordered  to  Canada — Richard  Howell's  letter  to  Mr.  Read — Operations 
and  prospects  of  the  American  army — General  Thompson's  letter  to  Mr.  Read 
— British  fleet  arrive  below  Quebec — General  Thomas  takes  command  of 
American  troops — Retreats — Command  of  American  army  devolves  on  General 
Thompson — He  attacks  the  British  at "  Three  Rivers,"  and  is  defeated  and  made 
prisoner — His  plan  of  attack  judicious ;  why  it  failed— Letter  of  Jonathan  Potts 
giving  particulars  of  General  Thompson's  capture — Colonel  Irving  captured 
also — Mr.  Read's  family  resident  in  Wilmington — His  letters  to  Mrs.  Read — 
Attack  of  American  row-galleys  upon  the  Liverpool  and  Roebuck  British 
frigates  off  mouth  of  Christiana  Creek ;  Mr.  Read's  letter  to  Messrs.  McKean 
and  Rodney  giving  account  of  it ;  notice  of  Captain  Houston  ;  anecdotes — Mr. 
Read  in  Congress;  his  letter  to  Mrs.  Read  ;  items  of  news — Question  of  inde 
pendence  before  Congress;  Mr.  Read's  course  upon  it;  view  of  the  subject; 
John  Dickinson  in  connection  with  it — General  Howe  awaits  reinforcements  at 
Halifax — British  plan  of  campaign — Americans  determine  to  hold  New  York 
and  Long  Island — Battle  of  Brooklyn — Generals  Sullivan  and  Putnam — Retreat 
of  American  army  from  Long  Island — Letters  of  Colonel  Bedford  arid  Caesar 
Rodney  to  Mr.  Read — Notice  of  the  Delaware  regiment — History  of  the  u  three 
lower  counties"  or  "  territory,"  now  the  State  of  Delaware — Convention  elected 
1776  to  frame  constitution  for  Delaware,  as  recommended  by  Congress — Mr. 
Read  a  member,  and  its  president;  account  of  its  proceedings,  and  the  consti 
tution  adopted  ;  this  convention  contrasted  with  other  conventions  ;  other  pro 
ceedings  ;  erroneous  statement  as  to  Mr.  McKean's  framing  this  constitution  ; 
rough  draft  thereof  in  Mr.  Read's  handwriting  ;  its  defects — Letters  of  Caesar 
Rodney  to  Mr.  Read,  and  to  Messrs.  Read  and  McKean,  giving  account  of 
public  affairs — The  "flying  camp;"  how  composed;  commanded  by  General 
Mercer;  Delaware  battalion  part  of  it;  commanded  by  Colonel  Patterson  ;  his 
letters  to  Mr.  Read — Colonel  Bedford's  letters  to  Mr.  Read — Letter  of  Caesar 
Rodney  to  Mr.  Read — Military  operations  after  the  evacuation  of  New  York — 
Battle  of  White  Plains ;  Colonel  Bedford  wounded — Report  that  Continental 
troops  were  ordered  to  Lewistown,  Delaware ;  letters  of  Messrs.  Read  and 
Robert  Morris  in  consequence — Caesar  Rodney's  letter  to  Mr.  Read;  Captain 
Gibson — Letter  of  Messrs.  Wilson,  Clymer,  and  Chase  to  Mr.  Read,  urging 
march  of  volunteers  to  defend  Philadelphia — Colonel  Patterson's  letter  to  Mr. 
Read  at  the  end  of  his  service  with  the  "  flying  camp" — Readiness  of  Delaware 
militia  to  aid  in  defence  of  Philadelphia — Letter  of  General  McKinley  to 
Mr.  Read — Notice  of  John  McKinley — Letters  of  Thomas  Duff  and  John  Evans 
to  Mr.  Read — Success  of  General  Washington  at  Trenton  ;  happy  results — 
Appendix  A,  the  second  instructions  to  the  Delaware  delegates  in  Congress — 
Appendix  B,  synopsis  of  arguments  for  and  against  the  resolution  that  the 
United  States  should  declare  their  independence — Appendix  C,  account  of  the 
"signature"  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence — Appendix  D,  biographical 


OF  GEORGE  BEAD.  145 

sketch  of  Cfesar  A.  Rodney — Appendix  E,  instructions  to  Delaware  Legislature, 
A.D.  1776,  for,  and  remonstrance  against,  a  change  of  the  constitution  thereof 
—  Appendix  F,  state  of  parties  in  Congress  A.D.  1776. 

MR.  HEAD  was,  in  the  beginning  of  1776,  for  a  brief 
period,  with  his  family. 

Mr.  Evans,  the  writer  of  the  following  letter,  was  a 
member  of  the  committee  of  freeholders  of  New  Castle 
County,  appointed  to  take  measures  for  holding  a  convention 
to  choose  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress  of  1774, 
and  to  receive  contributions  for  the  sufferers  under  the 
Boston  port-bill  (see  ante,  chapter  ii.),  and  from  the  first 
paragraph  of  his  letter,  I  think,  a  member — as  was  Mr. 
Head — of  the  committee  of  safety.  From  his  position,  I 
conclude  he  was  an  active  and  influential  Whig. 

Mr.  Read,  it  seems  from  the  second  paragraph  of  this 
letter,  was  contemplating  the  removal  of  his  family  to 
Newark,  a  village  ten  miles  west  of  New  Castle,  which  was 
entirely  exposed  to  the  landing  of  parties  from  British 
men-of-war,  the  advent  of  which  into  the  bay  and  river 
Delaware  was  much  dreaded  by  its  inhabitants. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  received  yours  of  yesterday,  and,  on  con 
sidering  the  contents,  would  gladly  oblige  Colonel  Bedford, 
and  join  in  the  opinion  with  him  that  Mr.  Holland  would 
be  of  great  service  in  training  the  battalion,  and  could 
Kirkwood  or  Anderson  be  prevailed  on  to  give  place  to 
him,  I  should  approve  of  it  highly;  and  as  Anderson  is 
second  lieutenant,  I  should  be  of  opinion  he  would  have 
no  objections  to  [the]  alteration  you  propose,  as  being  eldest 
ensign  in  the  battalion  will  be  quite  equal  to  his  present 
appointment. 

"  Since  my  return  home  Mr.  Black  gave  me  notice  that 
he  would  not  hold  the  house  his  store  is  kept  in  longer  than 
the  25th  of  March.  That  being  the  case,  I  have  the  prom 
ise  of  it  from  Mr.  James  Anderson,  though  I  would  be 
glad  if  your  time  and  business  would  permit  you  to  come 
and  see  it  before  I  should  agree  for  it.  There  are  four 
rooms  on  the  first  floor.  Being  a  one-story  house,  the  rooms 
on  the  second  floor  are  only  fit  for  servants.  [There]  is  a 
good  cellar  under  the  whole,  a  kitchen  adjoining  the  west 
end  of  the  house,  and  six  acres  of  pasture.  If  you  or  Mrs. 
Read,  the  weather  permitting,  could  come  to  Newark  on 


146  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Monday  or  Tuesday  next,  I  would  make  it  my  business  to 
stay  at  home  and  await  your  coming;  but  if  it  should  not, 
you  can  let  me  know,  [and]  I  will  make  the  best  terms  I 
can  for  the  house. 

"  From  your  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  EVANS. 
"January  17th,  1776. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle,  per  Lieutenant 
Popham." 

There  is,  I  think,  scarcely  an  American  citizen  who  does 
not  believe  that  the  holding  at  the  same  time  and  by  the 
same  person  of  State  and  United  States  offices  is  incongruous 
and  wrong,  and  this  independently  of  constitutional  prohibi 
tions  of  such  holding,  though,  no  doubt,  these  prohibitions 
have  done  much  to  produce  this  opinion.  But  at  the  period 
of  the  American  Revolution  the  strict  notions  of  the  present 
day  on  this  subject  were  not  held.  Mr.  Read  and  Mr.  Mc- 
Kean,  delegates  to  the  Continental  Congress,  were  at  the 
same  time  members  of  the  Assembly  of  Delaware.  The 
nomination  of  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  as  minister  to  the  Court  of  St.  James 
would  now  excite  universal  astonishment  and  reprobation; 
and  yet  Washington  nominated  John  Jay,  chief  justice  of 
that  court,  and  the  United  States  Senate,  though  not  with 
out  opposition,  confirmed  him,  as  Envoy  Extraordinary  to 
his  Britannic  Majesty.*  Mr.  Read  and  Mr.  McKean  were, 
bj  the  following  letter,  summoned,  and  urgently,  to  attend 
the  Legislature  of  Delaware  if  the  business  of  Congress 
would  permit.  By  the  exercise  of  sound  judgment,  they, 
and  others  in  the  same  situation,  were,  I  have  no  doubt, 
successful  in  filling  offices  that  seem  to  us  incompatible.  If 
they  left  one  body  for  another,  they  did  so  when  the  state 
of  business  permitted  it  without  injury  to  their  constituents, 
and,  if  all  could  not  leave,  one  might  do  so. 


CASTLE,  March  6th,  1776.  f 
"GENTLEMEN,  —  I  am  ordered  by  the  House  to  require 

*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  p.  545. 

f  In  1781  Thomas  McKean,  Delegate  in  the  Continental  Congress 
from  Delaware,  was  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania.  —  HildretJi's  History 
of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  pp.  401,  402. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  147 

your  immediate  attendance,  unless  business  of  the  first  im 
portance  should  make  your  stay  in  Congress  necessary  : 
if  so,  you  are  immediately  to  let  the  House  know  it. 

"  I  am,  gentlemen,  your  very  humble  servant, 

"(LftSAR  KODNEY,  Speaker. 
"GEORGE  READ  and  THOMAS  McKEAN,  Esquires." 

Through  the  winter  of  1776  all  eyes  were  anxiously  fixed 
upon  Boston.  Day  after  day  and  month  after  month  passed 
away  without  the  anticipated  attack  upon  the  beleaguered 
city.  People  became  impatient,  and,  as  the  impatient  too 
often  are,  unjust.  The  inaction  of  Washington  was  even 
charged  to  the  mean  and  selfish  desire  to  continue  the  war 
that  he  might  prolong  his  importance  as  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  American  army.  What  was  the  true  state  of 
the  case?  Let  the  heroic  general  answer  this  question. 
"It  is  not,"  wrote  Washington,  January,  1776,  "in  the 
pages  of  history  to  furnish  a  case  like  ours.  To  maintain  a 
post,  within  musket-shot  of  the  enemy,  for  six  months  to 
gether,  without  ammunition,  and  at  the  same  time  to  disband 
one  army  and  recruit  another  within  that  distance  of 
twenty  British  regiments,  is  more  than  probably  ever  was 
attempted."  And  yet,  while  daring  and  doing  all  this,  to 
be,  as  he  was,  assailed  with  murmurs,  slanders,  and  com 
plaints,  must  have  sorely  tried  his  patience,  and  it  was  a 
still  greater  trial  of  it,  to  be  forced  to  submit  to  them  in 
silence,  when  by  a  word  he  could  have  exposed  thqir  utter 
groundlessness.  But  he  could  not  make  known  to  his  impa 
tient  countrymen  his  want  of  ammunition  and  soldiers, 
without  at  the  same  time  publishing  it  to  the  British. 

The  fortification  of  Dorchester  Heights  by  the  Americans 
forced  upon  their  foe  the  unwelcome  conclusion^  that  unless 
they  were  dislodged  Boston  was  untenable.  A  tempest  de 
feated  the  contemplated  attack  upon  the  works  on  these 
heights  when  unfinished,  and  when  completed  the  strength 
of  the  position  forbade  an  attempt  to  carry  it.  On  the  17th 
of  March,  as  the  veil  of  morning  mist  was  lifted  from  the 
harbor  of  Boston,  there  were  to  the  American  lookouts  un 
mistakable  signs  of  an  important  movement.  The  men- 
of-war  and  transports  were  hove  short  to  their  anchors, 
their  sails  were  let  fall,  and,  soon  after,  boats  were  lowered 
and  manned,  and,  impelled  by  the  steady  man-of-war's- 


148  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

man's  stroke,  neared  the  quays,  and  received  company  after 
company  of  British  soldiers,  the  sun  glancing  on  their  scar 
let  uniforms  and  burnished  muskets.  The  evacuation  of 
the  city,  commenced  on  the  llth,  was  on  the  17th  to  be 
consummated. 

The  capture  of  Boston  by  assault  would  have  been  a  more 
splendid  success ;  but  it  could  not  have  been  obtained  with 
out  great  loss  of  men  and  destruction  of  property,  while  to 
have  compelled  the  enemy,  after  all  their  vaunts,  to  aban 
don  a  strong  position,  was  a  great  triumph,  especially  as 
achieved  by  raw  troops  over  veteran  soldiers. 

By  a  tacit  understanding,  the  retiring  fleet  was  not  fired 
upon,  and  Boston  was  left  undestroyed.  It  had  suffered 
much  from  the  enemy's  occupation.  How  could  it  have 
been  otherwise  ?  Houses  had  been  pulled  down  for  fuel, 
when  it  failed,  and,  no  doubt,  fences  and  trees  shared  their 
fate,  grass-plots  and  shrubbery  and  flowers  had  perished 
under  the  tread  of  rude  soldiers,  and  the  churches  and  other 
public  buildings,  or  some  of  them,  were  occupied  as  barracks 
or  riding-houses.  If  the  Americans  detained  in  Boston  as 
prisoners  were  not  cruelly  treated,  they  endured,  it  may  be 
fairly  presumed,  more  than  the  garrison  from  want  of  food 
and  firing,  and  found  more  intolerable  than  hunger  and 
cold  the  contumely  of  their  insolent  enemies.  The  hu 
manity  extended  to  them  was  extorted  by  fear  of  retaliation, 
and  could  not  therefore  have  been  of  high  character  or 
degree.  General  Gage  seized  and  imprisoned,  as  rebels,  all 
in  Boston  who  espoused  the  American  cause,  and,  when 
Washington  remonstrated,  replied,  "  that  his  clemency  was 
great  in  sparing  the  lives  of  those  destined  by  the  laws  of 
the  land  to  the  cord"  There  was  another  class  of  men  to 
be  not  less,  if  not  more,  pitied — the  Tories,  who  had  found 
refuge  in  Boston,  and  left  it  with  the  evacuating  army, 
abandoning,  many  of  them,  large  estates,  with  the  faint 
struggle  of  hope  of  better  days  against  the  fear  that  they 
were  leaving  their  country  forever.  Unhappy  men !  they 
had  taken  sides  honestly,  I  believe,  most  of  them,  in  an 
unhappy  civil  quarrel,  but  it  was  with  oppressors  against 
their  countrymen. 

To  the  delegates  of  the  "  Three  Lower  Counties  on  Dela 
ware"  the  following  instructions  were  at  this  time  given : 

"In  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  Counties  of 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  149 

New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex,  upon  Delaware.     At  New 
Castle,  Friday,  March  22d,  P.M.: 

"  Instructions  to  the  Deputies  appointed  by  this  Govern 
ment  to  meet  in  General  Congress : 

"  1st.  That  you  embrace  every  favorable  opportunity  to 
effect  a  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain,  on  such  principles 
as  may  secure  to  your  constituents  a  full  and  lasting  en 
joyment  of  all  their  just  rights  and  privileges;  and,  as  the 
most  probable  means  of  obtaining  such  desirable  ends,  you 
are  to  cultivate  with  the  greatest  care  the  union  which  so 
happily  prevails  throughout  the  United  Colonies,  and  con 
sequently  to  avoid  and  discourage  any  separate  treaty. 

u  2d.  Notwithstanding  our  earnest  desire  of  peace  with 
Great  Britain,  upon  the  terms  aforesaid,  you  are  neverthe 
less  to  join  with  the  other  colonies  in  all  such  military 
operations  as  may  be  judged  proper  and  necessary  for  the 
common  defence,  until  such  a  peace  can  be  happily  ob 
tained. 

"  3d.  On  every  necessary  occasion  you  are  decently,  but 
firmly,  to  urge  the  right  of  this  government  to  an  equal 
voice  in  Congress  with  any  other  Province  on  this  conti 
nent,  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  have  their  all  at  stake  as 
well  as  others. 

"Extract  from  the  minutes. 

"JAMES  BOOTH, 

"  Cleric  of  the  Assembly" 

After  the  repulse  and  death  of  General  Montgomery, 
Colonel  Arnold,  who  succeeded  him  in  the  command  of  the 
American  army,  reduced  to  about  six  hundred  men,  re 
treated  up  the  St.  Lawrence  three  miles.  He  encamped. 
Congealed  snow  formed  his  ramparts.  Wounded,  with  a 
handful  of  raw  troops,  insubordinate  under  any  circum 
stances,  and  disheartened  by  defeat,  hundreds  of  miles  of 
wilderness  stretching  between  the  frontiers  of  Canada  and 
their  homes,  with  the  cold  of  Siberia,  the  thermometer  sink 
ing  to  forty  degrees  below  zero,  Arnold  commenced  the 
blockade  of  Quebec.  It  is  situated  on  the  northern  bank 
of  the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the  termination  of  the  promontory 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  river  St.  Charles  with  the 
St.  Lawrence.  The  Heights  of  Abraham,  a  wall  of  rocks 
rising  nearly  perpendicularly  from  the  bank  of  the  St.  Law- 


150  LIFE   AND    COERESPONDENCE 

rence,  are  an  almost  impregnable  defence  to  the  upper  town, 
built  on  the  Plains- of  Abraham,  which  extend  in  width  from 
one  to  two  miles  from  east  to  west.  The  lower  town  occu 
pies  the  narrow  space  at  the  base  of  the  Heights  of  Abraham. 
Cape  Diamond,  across  which,  declining  to  the  St.  Charles, 
the  upper  town  is  built,  rises  gradually  to  the  height  of  more 
than  three  hundred  and  forty  feet  above  the  St.  Lawrence. 
Arnold's  indomitable  spirit  sustained  him  under  discourage 
ments  to  which  most  commanders  would  have  succumbed. 
Stretched  upon  his  rude  couch,  with  no  shelter  but  his  tent, 
with,  perhaps,  supplemental  walls  of  snow,  and  without  the 
comforts  and  attendance  necessary  for  the  speedy  healing  of 
his  wound,  he  sustained  the  blockade  through  a  very  severe 
winter,  but  must  have  combated  doubts  and  fears  of  his 
ability  to  maintain  his  position,  of  the  most  harassing  char 
acter.  The  cold  had  become  intense  and  still,  and  deep 
snow,  the  winding-sheet  of  nature  in  the  deathlike  embrace 
of  winter,  covered  the  province.  In  the  clear  winter  atmos 
phere  Arnold  could  see  the  walls  of  Quebec,  impregnable 
to  his  guns  of  small  caliber,  perhaps  the  half-frozen  senti 
nels  pacing  the  ramparts,  the  flag  of  England  drooping 
along  its  staff,  and  the  tin-covered  steeples,  seeming,  in  the 
glancing  sunlight,  to  be  plated  with  silver.  Would  Carle- 
ton  attack  him,  or,  content  with  his  success,  and  fearing  to 
sally  with  a  disaffected  garrison,  wait  the  reinforcements 
of  which,  in  the  spring, 'he  was  certain?  Would  the  Ameri 
cans  be  reinforced  before  the  expected  British  troops  could 
reach  Quebec,  and  wrould  their  leader  win  the  high  renown 
of  taking  it  by  assault?  On  receiving  intelligence  of  Mont 
gomery's  defeat,  might  not  his  countrymen  abandon  the 
attempt  to  conquer  Canada,  requiring,  as  it  did,  ten  thou 
sand  men,  whom  they  could  neither  spare  nor  equip,  and 
hard  money  they  could  not  command?  Could  he  expect 
further  support  from  the  Canadians?  It  was  unlikely  that 
they  would  further  imperil  their  lives  and  their  property  by 
adhesion  to  a  defeated  army  with  no  flattering  prospects  of 
success.  The  priests  and  the  seigneurs  sustained  the  Eng 
lish  authority,  pleased  with  the  Quebec  bill,  which  gave  to 
the  Canadian  ecclesiastics  an  establishment,  and  to  the 
noblesse  all  legislative  power  except  that  of  taxation.  The 
peasantry — the  cultivators  or  Jiabitans — it  is  true,  were  at 
first  favorably  disposed  to  the  Americans,  but  that  inclina- 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  151 

tion  was  not  increased  by  familiarity  with  each  other.  The 
sprightly  Canadian,  with  the  mercurial  temperament,  the 
graceful  manners,  and  the  love  for  conversation,  music, 
the  chanson,  and  the  dance  of  his  French  ancestors,  saw 
little  to  admire  in  the  American  soldiers,  uncouth  in  dress 
and  rough  in  manners.  They  seemed  to  him  only  a  few 
shades  less  repulsive,  cold,  and  morose  than  their  Eng 
lish  cousins,  while  the  noble  qualities  of  both  they  perhaps 
neither  perceived  nor  could  appreciate.  The  American, 
on  the  contrary,  equally  unable  to  estimate  qualities  so 
amiable  and  delightful  as  those  of  the  Canadian  "  habitan," 
contemned  him  as  an  effeminate,*  fiddling  Frenchman, 
wasting  in  games  and  talk  and  song  and  dance  and  music 
the  long  winters  of  his  country,  which  he,  the  manly 
American,  would  have  passed  in  hunting,  or  prospecting 
the  wilderness  around  him.  The  indisposition  of  the  Cana 
dians  to  the  invaders  was  increased  when  Arnold,  by 
proclamation,  announced  that  they  were  to  be  paid  for 
supplies  to  his  army  in  the  paper  money  of  the  Continental 
Congress.  He  might  as  well  have  offered  cowries  or  wam 
pum.  In  March  reinforcements  to  the  American  army 
began  to  arrive,  and  continued  to  arrive  till  it  was  increased 
to  seventeen  hundred  men;  but  many  of  them  were  suffering 
under  that  loathsome  disease  the  small-pox,  and  they  oc 
cupied  a  space  of  twenty-six  miles  on  the  island  of  Orleans 
and  both  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence :  besides,  they  were  ill 
disciplined,  and  did  not  respect  the  property  of  the  Cana 
dians,  which  further  alienated  them.  On  the  2d  of  April 
General  Wooster  arrived,  and  took  command,  and  the  next 
day  a  fire  from  the  American  batteries  was  opened  on 
Quebec,  but  without  effect,  and  Arnold  departed  for  Mon 
treal,  to  command  there,  mortified  and  displeased  at  being 
overlooked,  as  he  supposed  he  was.  A  considerable  part  of 
the  American  army,  entitled  to  discharge,  could  not  be  per 
suaded  to  remain. 

In  April  General  Thompson  announced  to  Mr.  Read  that 

*  Effeminate  they  were  not :  hardy,  patient,  and  laborious,  they  fur 
nished  the  engage's,  coureurs  de  bois,  or  voyageurs,  by  whose  agency 
the  fur- trade  was  carried  on.  They  were  unrivaled  in  skill  as  boatmen, 
and  made  long  journeys,  enduring  almost  incredible  privations  and  toil, 
for  very  small  wages.  The  descendants  from  the  mixed  marriages  of 
the  voyageurs  and  Indian  women  are  an  athletic  and  handsome  race. 


152  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

he  was  ordered  to  Canada.  This  order  was  unexpected, 
and  perhaps  unwelcome  ;  yet  he  obeyed  it  with  alacrity 
honorable  to  him  as  a  soldier  and  a  patriot. 


"NEW  YORK,  April  15th, 

"Mr  DEAR  BROTHER,  —  This  minute  I  have  received  orders 
to  march  to  Canada.  I  confess  I  did  not  expect  to  have 
been  ordered  from  here  so  soon,  but  I  shall  always  be  most 
happy  where  I  can  most  serve  my  country. 

"  I  have  wrote  to  Mrs.  Thompson  to  send  my  boys  to 
Newark,  where  I  know  you  will  see  that  care  is  taken  of 
them.* 

"  As  the  office  of  Paymaster-General  is  [to]  be  soon 
vacant  by  the  resignation  of  Colonel  Warren,  let  me  recom 
mend,  in  his  room,  Mr.  Palfrey,  a  gentleman  of  Boston, 
who,  from  a  campaign's  acquaintance,  I  know  to  be  a  man 
of  strict  honor,  and  well  acquainted  with  business.  General 
Hancock  and  Colonel  Harrison  know  him  well,  and  to  them 
I  refer  you  for  his  character. 

"I  have  been  so  very  kindly  treated  by  the  people  of 
this  place  that  I  should  gladly  have  stayed  to  have  rendered 
them  every  service  in  my  power.  You  shall  hear  from  me 
when  I  arrive  at  Albany. 

"My  love  to  Mrs.  Read  and  all  friends  —  and  am,  my 
dear  brother,  yours  very  sincerely, 

"  WILLIAM  THOMPSON. 

"  To  GEORGE  READ,  Esq.,  Continental  Congress,  per  post, 
Philadelphia." 

On  the  1st  of  May  arrived  General  Thomas,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  command  the  American  army  in  Canada, 
its  effective  force  not  more  than  one  thousand  men,  so 
scattered  that  more  than  three  hundred  men  could  not 
be  assembled  at  any  point  that  might  be  attacked.  The 
following  account  of  the  American  army,  its  operations 
and  prospects,  just  before  its  retreat  from  Quebec,  will,  I 
think,  be  read  with  interest.  The  writer  of  this  letter  was 
related  to  Mr.  Read  on  his  mother's  side,  and  was  subse 
quently,  I  believe,  Governor  of  New  Jersey. 

*  Post. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  153 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  had  information  of  affairs  at  home 
by  no  person  since  I  left  Burlington.  I  expected,  indeed, 
letters  through  your  hands,  but  find  I  am  entirely  neglected 
or  forgotten.  Be  that  as  my  friends  please  or  I  deserve;  but, 
unless  I  have  given  you  offence,  I  beg  a  line  from  you,  in 
forming  me  of  my  brother's  destination,  [and]  the  welfare 
of  our  family  and  yours. 

"  Yesterday  we  reached  the  post  assigned  us  before 
Quebec,  and  I  am  unhappy  to  assert  that  the  strength  of 
our  army  here  is  vastly  inferior  to  our  expectations,  and  I 
doubt  not  to  yours.  The  first  evening  we  were  called  to 
duty  by  an  alarm  to  observe  the  effect  of  a  fire-ship  bearing 
down  on  the  shipping  at  the  lower  town,  and  to  co-operate 
with  it,  if  the  wind  might  bear  the  flarne  on  the  town;  but 
beyond  all  expectation  there  did  not  appear  above  eight 
hundred  men,  exclusive  of  the  guards,  nor  do  I  think  more 
can  appear  without  calling  the  several  parties  on  command  in 
from  the  detached  posts,  and  including  the  guards.  The  New 
England  troops  are  arrived,  and  even  at  this  critical  period 
inoculated  themselves,  and  became  unfit  for  duty.  Their 
regiments  are  merely  nominal,  some  not  more  than  two 
good  companies.  We  ardently  wish  for  ammunition  and 
reinforcements,  that  we  may  try  our  fortune  before  the 
town  is  supported  by  additional  troops.  If  we  do  not  suc 
ceed  before  they  receive  a  reinforcement,  or  we  are  strongly 
supported  from  the  southward,  we  shall  undoubtedly  be 
forced  to  evacuate  the  ground.  We  are  situated  in  a  wide- 
extended  country,  of  uncertain  and  inconstant  friends,  and 
a  strong  town,  garrisoned  by  brave  [and]  inveterate  ene 
mies.  The}'  know  our  situation  and  measures,  and  even 
ridicule  our  attempts.  Yesterday  we  opened  a  two-gun 
battery  against  them,  and  after  our  fire  they  discharged, 
deridingly,  a  musket  in  return.  We  have  very  light  metal 
and  little  ammunition ;  they  have  heavy  metal  and  abun 
dance  of  powder  and  ball.  They  fire  very  frequently,  so 
that  we  can  procure  their  shot  in  great  plenty.  Should  the 
reinforcement  they  expect  come  soon,  whilst  the  New  Eng 
land  troops  are  so  few  and  unfit  for  duty,  surely,  with 
superior  numbers,  and  a  secure  retreat  to  a  strong  town, 
they  would  sacrifice  this  handful  of  us,  without  sufficient 
ammunition  and  uncovered  by  a  single  line.  They  are 
prepared  for  us,  and  surprise  we  cannot  take  them  by ;  I 

11 


154  LIFE  AND    COERESPONDENCE 

doubt  not  but  that  they  have  beams  prepared  to  roll  upon 
us  and  our  ladders,  should  we  try  it,  and  their  walls  are 
illuminated  to  secure  them  from  night  attack.  Difficult 
indeed  is  our  situation;  but  we  encourage  the  men,  and  I 
am  happy  to  believe  that  my  little  company  is  resolutely 
firm  to  my  most  dangerous  purposes.  Last  night  I  found 
them  ready,  obedient,  and  willing,  though  the  first  night  in 
camp.  Our  news  here  is  trifling ;  it  is  suspected  that  the 
savages  with  the  troops  at  the  Forts  Detroit,  Niagara, 
Mushinamaccanac,  are  coming  down,  and  troops  have  been 
dispatched,  I  know  not  with  what  propriety.  Our  fire- 
ship,  I  mentioned,  was  repelled,  as  I  am  told,  by  a  boom 
across  the  river,  and  blew  up  to  no  purpose,  while  our  adju 
tant,  who  directed  it,  was  in  the  cabin,  whether  from  the  fire 
of  the, enemy,  or  the  too  sudden  effect  of  the  combustibles, 
is  uncertain.  Poor  Anderson,*  however,  threw  himself  out 
of  a  port-hole,  wretchedly  burned,  and  by  good  fortune 
swam  to  the  boat.  But  I  am  in  haste,  though  very  prolix 
in  my  letter,  and  conclude,  with  best  wishes  for  you,  your 
lady  and  family,  and  am,  dear  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"  RICHARD  HOWELL. 

"May  4th,  1776. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Member  of  Congress,  Philadel 
phia.  To  be  left  at  the  Coifee-House." 

Intelligence  was  received  May  6th  that  the  British  fleet 
was  below,  and  on  the  next  day  five  of  their  vessels  entered 
the  harbor  of  Quebec.  General  Thomas  retreated,  aban 
doning  many  of  his  sick  and  all  his  stores,  to  Du  Chambeau, 
and  then  to  the  mouth  of  the  Sorel,  where  he  was  attacked 
by  the  small-pox,  and  the  command  of  the  American  army 
devolved  upon  General  Thompson,  and  soon  after  General 


*  Ephraim  Anderson,  notwithstanding  the  failure  of  his  attempt  to 
burn  the  British  fleet  iu  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  his  narrow  escape  from 
death,  had  the  tenacity  of  purpose  a  characteristic  of  projectors,  hap 
pily  for  the  world,  but  too  often  unhappily  for  themselves.  I  find  that 
in  the  early  part  of  the  summer  of  1776  he  was  in  New  York,  adjutant 
of  the  2d  New  Jersey  battalion,  proposing  to  Congress  the  destruction 
of  the  British  men-of-war  in  the  waters  of  New  York  by  fire-ships,  that 
Congress  authorized  the  attempt,  and  he  was  employed  to  construct 
them,  but  that  the  number  necessary  could  not  be  prepared  in  season, 
and  the  scheme  was  abandoned. — American  Archives,  5th  Series,  Sec 
tion  1,  p."155. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  155 

Thomas  died.  Actuated  by  the  laudable  desire  to  strike 
the  enemy  where  he  seemed  to  be  vulnerable,  and  thus 
give  a  happy  turn  to  affairs  in  Canada,  which  were  so  un- 
prosperous  to  the  Americans  and  unpromising  of  improve 
ment,  General  Thompson,  having  been  informed  that  eight 
hundred  British  troops,  commanded  by  Colonel  McClean, 
were  stationed  at  the  "Three  Rivers,"  ordered  Colonel 
St.  Clair  to  attack  them,  if  he  could  do  so  to  advantage. 
St.  Clair,  thinking  his  force  of  six  or  seven  hundred  men 
insufficient,  paused  for  reinforcement  and  further  orders. 
General  Sullivan  arrived,  and,  as  senior  officer,  took  the 
command  of  the  American  army.  He  ordered  General 
Thompson,  at  the  head  of  between  thirteen  and  fourteen 
hundred  men,  to  join  St.  Clair,  and,  taking  command  of  the 
whole  force,  to  attack  the  enemy,  if  there  should  be  good 
prospect  of  success.  General  Thompson,  embarking  his 
troops  in  boats,  coasted  the  St.  Lawrence  on  the  south  side 
of  its  expansion,  called  the  "Lake  of  St.  Peter,"  and  joined 
St.  Clair  at  Nicollet.  Believing  that  he  could  accomplish 
his  purpose,  though  his  information  as  to  the  strength  of 
the  British,  commanded  by  General  Frazer,  was  contradic 
tory,  he  dropped  down  the  St.  Lawrence,  under  cover  of 
night,  with  the  design  to  surprise  them.  The  "Three 
Rivers,"  a  village  of  some  length,  was  so  called  because 
located  where  the  St.  Maurice  disembogues  into  the  St. 
Lawrence  by  "three  mouths,"  about  midway  between  Mon 
treal  and  Quebec.  The  town  was  to  be  assailed,  a  short 
time  before  daybreak,  by  the  American  troops,  simultane 
ously  at  each  of  its  extremes,  and  two  smaller  bodies  were 
to  support  them.  The  Americans  passed  the  armed  British 
boats  below  them,  June  8th,  undiscovered,  and  were  san 
guine  of  success,  but  unfortunately  arrived  at  the  "  Three 
Rivers"  an  hour  later  than  was  proposed,  so  that  they  were 
seen  and  the  post  alarmed  as  they  disembarked.  The  Brit 
ish  vessels  opened  their  fire  upon  the  Americans ;  to  shelter 
them  they  were  ordered  to  march  through  what  appeared 
a  wooded  point,  but  was  really  a  morass,  and  extending 
three  miles.  They  were  so  long  making  their  way  through 
this  morass  that  General  Frazer  had  time  to  land  field-pieces 
and  make  complete  preparations  to  receive  their  attack, 
while  General  Nesbit  cut  off  their  retreat  to  their  boats. 
The  American  general,  under  all  these  disadvantages, 


156  LIFE  AND    COEBESPONDENCE 

showed  no  lack  of  courage,  but  ordered  his  troops  to  charge. 
They  obeyed,  but  were  repelled,  and  retreated  through  a 
swamp,  the  British  pursuing  for  a  while.  The  loss  in  killed 
did  not  exceed  thirty,  but  two  hundred  prisoners  were  taken, 
and  among  them  General  Thompson  and  Colonel  Irvin. 
The  plan  of  attack  was  judicious,  and  courageously  made, 
and  only  failed  because  it  required  too  many  circumstances 
to  concur  to  make  it  successful.*  The  following  letter  gives 
an  account  of  the  capture  of  General  Thompson  and  Colonel 
Irvin : 

"FORT  GEORGE,  July  5th,  1776. 

"  MY  DEAR  OLD  FRIEND, — Would  to  God  it  were  in  my 
power  to  give  you  some  agreeable  intelligence  from  this 
place!  but  at  present  it  is  out  of  my  power.  You  will  be 
much  pleased  with  Colonel  Allen's  account  of  General 
Thompson's  engagement,  in  which,  as  he  ever  will,  he 
acted  the  part  of  a  hero  and  a  great  general.  His  capture 
was  owing  to  the  treachery  of  a  rascally  Canadian,  a  captain 
in  our  troops,  who  invited  him,  on  his  retreat,  to  take  some 
refreshment  at  his  house,  which  the  general,  with  Colonel 
Irvin,  accepted,  and,  while  they  were  supping  a  little  milk, 
the  traitor  gave  the  enemy  notice,  who  immediately  came 
up  and  took  them. 

"  Should  Howe  get  a  drubbing  at  New  York,  it  will  effect 
ually  check  the  progress  of  Burgoyne,  who  is  not  provided 
with  boats  to  cross  the  lakes.  You  will  have  heard  that 
Burgoyne's  army  is  composed  of  the  foreigners  we  have 
been  threatened  with.  I  am  stationed  here,  and  very  much 
hurried  in  building  a  hospital  for  the  reception  of  three 
thousand  men,  who  will  be  down  in  a  few  days. 

"I  should  be  happy  to  hear  from  you.     Make  my  most 
respectful  compliments  to  Mrs.  Biddle,  your  good  daughter, 
Mrs.  Jemmy  Biddle,  and  the  rest  of  your  good  family. 
"  I  am,  my  dear  sir, 

"  Your  affectionate  and  most  humble  servant, 

"JONATHAN  POTTS. 

"Major  Scull,  Nicky,  and  the  rest  of  our  Reading  friends 
are  well. 

" COLONEL  EDWARD  BIDDLE,  Philadelphia. 

"Favored  by  Colonel  Allen." 

*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  362-366. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  157 

It  appears  from  the  following  letter  that  Mr.  Read's  family 
in  May,  1776,  were  resident  in  Wilmington : 

"Mr  DEAR  G ,  I  have  this  morning  wrote  to  Katy 

Thompson,*  proposing  to  her  to  send  her  oldest  son,  George, 
to  Philadelphia,  to  the  college,  where  Ned  Biddle  will  pro 
vide  him  with  board  and  lodging,  and  that  she  should  send 
her  second  son  to  Wilmington,  Where  you  will  do  the  like 
for  him.  I  presume  that  you  will  approve  of  this  last  [propo 
sition]. 

"  The  Province  ship  left  the  town  yesterday,  being  hurried 
off  in  consequence  of  intelligence  that  the  Roebuck,  man- 
of-war,  was  ashore  near  the  cape.  A  ship,  fitted  out  by 
Congress,  and  called  the  Reprisal,  is  ordered  down  also, 
with  several  of  the  gondolas,  but  a  report  prevailed  last- 
evening  that  the  Roebuck  had  got  off.  Little  else  has  been 
talked  of  since  Sunday  noon  that  the  news  came.  I  flatter 
myself  that  I  shall  see  you  on  Saturday  next.  Last  Satur 
day  the  Congress  sat,  and  I  could  not  be  absent.  I  saw  Mr. 
Bedford  last  evening;  he  has  had  a  little  gout  in  both  feet, 
attended  with  a  fever;  of  this  last  he  most  complained,  but 
it  is  gone  off.  This  day  is  their  election  for  additional  mem 
bers  of  Assembly.  Great  strife  is  expected.  Their  fixed 
candidates  are  not  known.  One  side  talk  of  Thomas  Wil 
ling,  Andrew  Allen,  Alexander  Wilcox,  and  Samuel  Howell, 
against  independency;  the  other,  Daniel  Roberdeau,  George 
Clymer,  Mark  Kuhl,  and  a  fourth  I  don't  recollect;  but  it  is 
thought  other  persons  would  be  put  up.  My  love  to  our 
little  ones,  and  compliments  to  all  acquaintances,  and  I  am 
"  Yours,  most  affectionately, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"Mrs.  GEORGE  READ,  Wilmington,  1st  May,  1776." 

In  the  month  of  May,  1776,  Mr.  Read  was  one  among 
the  multitude  of  his  fellow-citizens  who  witnessed  the  at 
tack  made  by  the  row-galleys  upon  the  Roebuck  and  Liver 
pool  frigates  off  the  mouth  of  Christiana  Creek.  The  letter 
next  inserted,  written  by  Mr.  Read  to  Mr.  McKean  and 
Mr.  Rodney,  contains  some  particulars  of  that  affair. 

*  Wife  of  General  ThoDipson. 


158  LIFE   AND    COBRESPONDENCE 

"WILMINGTON,  Friday,  May  10th,  1776. 

"GENTLEMEN, — The  inclosed  letter*  came  to  hand  this 
evening  by  the  person  employed  to  take  the  two  hundred 
pounds  of  lead  to  Lewistown,  sent  by  Brigadier  McKinley, 
upon  the  requisition  of  Colonel  Moore,  which  you  have 
seen. 

"The  committee  of  safety  have  thought  it  highly  impor 
tant  that  you  should  be  acquainted  with  the  condition  of 
the  magazine  at  Lewistown,  to  exert  your  influence  for  an 
immediate  supply  of  powder  and  lead,  which,  I  suppose,  must 
be  by  land,  as  the  Roebuck  and  Liverpool  will  probably 
continue  as  high  up  the  river  as  Reedy  Island.  This 
morning  they  were  in  the  bight  below  New  Castle,  and, 
though  the  row-galleys  have  proceeded  down  from  Christiana 
Creek's  mouth  about  two  hours  ago,  I  am  apprehensive  that 
the  high  wind  now  blowing  will  not  permit  their  acting  to 
advantage  in  that  cove. 

"We  have  had  warm  cannonading  between  the  ships  and 
galleys  these  two  days  past, — all  within  our  view.  Great 
intrepidity  was  shown  on  the  part  of  our  people,  who  com 
pelled  the  two  ships  to  retire,  not  much  to  their  credit;  but 
it  appears  to  me  the  ships  were  afraid  the  galleys  would  get 
below  them.  Young  Captain  Houston  led  the  van.  As  to 
the  other  particulars,  I  must  refer  you  to  the  very  many 
spectators  from  your  city,  who  will  have  returned  before 
this  time. 

"I  suppose  it  will  be  thought  that  too  much  powder  and 
shot  have  been  expended  by  the  galleys  in  these  attacks; 
but  I  am  wrell  satisfied  they  have  produced  a  very  happy 
effect  upon  the  multitudes  of  spectators  on  each  side  of  the 
river;  and  in  that  part  of  the  colonies  where  this  relation 
shall  be  known,  British  ships  of  war  will  not  be  thought  so 
formidable.  A  few  long-boats  drove,  and  apparently  injured, 
those  sized  ships  best  calculated  to  distress  us. 

"The  committee  of  safety  are  going  this  morning  to  New 
Castle  and  downward,  to  see  what  may  be  necessary  to 
advise  for  the  protection  of  the  shore  below.  Truly  the 
people  at  large  have  shown  great  alacrity  and  willingness 
on  this  occasion.  I  know  not  when  I  shall  be  with  you,  as 
I  may  be  of  some  little  use  here.  I  shall  stay  till  there  is 

*  This  letter  was  wanting*. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  159 

some  alteration  in  the  appearance  of  things.     Excuse  this 
scrawl.     Compliments  to  all  friends. 

"I  remain  your  very  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ.* 

"P.S. — Apothecary's  paper — written  in  the  smell  of  vials. 
"To   the  Honorable  CAESAR   RODNEY  and  THOMAS  Mc- 
KEAN." 

Young  Houston,  who  so  gallantly  led  the  van  in  the 
battle  of  the  row-galleys,  was  a  native  of  Philadelphia.  He 
was  described  to  me  by  a  venerable  Revolutionary  naval 
officer,  Captain  Henry  Geddes,  as  a  handsome  man,  born  in 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  fond  of  dress,  of  polished  and 
agreeable  mariners,  and  much  admired  in  female  society. 

I  was  also  informed  by  Captain  Geddes  that  he  was  cap 
tured,  three  days  after  the  battle  of  the  row-galleys,  by  the 
Liverpool,  Captain  Billew,  who  was  a  native  of  Scotland. 
This  officer  related  to  our  informant  that,  in  the  hottest  of 
the  fight,  a  row-boat  came  from  the  shore,  manned  with 
four  boys,  who  placed  themselves  directly  under  the  stern 
of  his  ship,  and  fired  incessantly  into  her.  His  officer  of 
marines,  calling  his  attention  to  these  juvenile  assailants, 
exclaimed:  "Captain,  do  you  see  those  d — d  young  rebels? 
Shall  I  fire  upon  them?'"  "No,  no,"  cried  the  brave  old 
Billew;  "don't  hurt  the  boys;  let  them  break  the  cabin- 
windows  !" 

"  In  the  heat  of  the  engagement,"  added  Captain  Geddes, 
"the  attention  of  the  thousand  spectators  who  lined  the 
Delaware  shore  was  diverted  from  the  sublime  spectacle  of 
a  naval  combat  by  a  militia  major  riding  at  full  speed 
among  them,  who  threw  himself  from  his  horse,  which  he 
turned  loose  among  the  crowd,  and  entreated  to  be  put  on 
board  one  of  the  galleys.  With  much  difficulty  he  per 
suaded  two  men  to  put  off  in  a  boat  with  him.  He  steered 
for  the  galley  nearest  the  enemy,  and  as  soon  as  he  set  his 
feet  on  board  he  stationed  himself  at  a  gun.  The  cartridges 

*  Tliis  letter  was  communicated  to  me  by  the  late  Cassar  A.  Rodney 
(who  very  kindly  permitted  me  to  take  a  copy  of  it)  in  1821,  and  was 
inserted  in  the  sketch  of  Mr.  Read's  life  which  I  then  wrote  for  the 
11  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,"  edited 
by  M.  Wain,  and  then  in  the  coarse  of  publication.  For  a  biographical 
sketch  of  C.  A.  Rodney,  see  post,  Appendix  D. 


160  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

failed,  cartridge-paper  was  called  for  to  make  more  cartridges, 
but  it  was  all  expended:  the  gallant  major  instantly  pulled 
off  his  boots,  filled  them  with  powder,  and  rammed  them 
into  the  gun.  When  he  returned  home,  he  bragged  'that 
he  had  not  only  been  in  the  battle,  but  that  he  had  fired 
his  boots  at  the  enemy/  " 

Mr.  Read  was,  very  soon  after  the  attacks  of  the  row- 
galleys  on  the  Roebuck  and  Liverpool,  as  appears  by  the 
following  letter,  in  Philadelphia,  in  attendance  on  Con 
gress  : — 

"My  DEAR  G ,  I  have  your  letter  of  the  12th  instant. 

I  did  expect  to  have  been  with  you  last  evening,  but  was 
detained  by  a  special  call  of  the  marine  committee.  This 
morning  there  is  a  call  of  Congress,  owing  to  a  letter,  by 
express,  from  General  Washington,  who  writes  that  two 
men-of-war  and  two  tenders  passed  New  York  up  the  North 
River  on  Friday,  notwithstanding  a  heavy  fire  from  several 
batteries,  [and]  that  a  large  ship,  with  a  flag  at  her  fore- 
topmast  head,  had  come  to  the  fleet  at  the  Narrows,  and 
was  saluted.  Supposed  to  be  Lord  Howe's — the  admiral's 
— ship. 

"  We  have  no  accounts  from  the  army  at  the  lakes.  Most 
of  the  companies  of  militia  of  this  city  have  proceeded  to 
Trenton,  where  they  rendezvous.  Your  brother  George 
came  to  town  last  evening,  and  says  his  battalion  are  on 
their  way  here.  Two  companies  of  them  will  be  in  town 
this  morning. 

"  One  of  the  smallest  frigates  building  here,  called  the 
6  Delaware,'  was  launched  yesterday,  and  one  of  the  largest 
was  expected  to  have  gone  off  the  stocks  at  the  same  time, 
but  could  not  be  moved,  owing  to  the  misplacing  of  the 
ways,  or  some  such  cause,  to  the  great  disappointment  of 
the  builder,  John  Warton,  and  a  numerous  set  of  spectators. 

"  I  was  out  at  Mr.  Gurney's  all  Friday,  on  a  message 
from  Mrs.  Gurney  the  preceding  night,  delivered  to  me  in 
bed  about  eleven  o'clock.  I  inclose  the  letter  for  the  sin 
gularity;  and,  behold!  the  cause  was  none  other  than  a 
notice  they  had  that  some  associators  were  going  about  to 
collect  arms  from  the  non-associators.  Before  I  got  there 
they  were  gone,  and  the  fright  was  over,  but  I  was  kept 
the  whole  day.  Mrs.  Ross  was  in  tolerable  spirits,  but 
complaining  as  usual.  Mrs.  Murray  is  still  with  them. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  161 

"As  to  my  own  health,  it  is  not  so  good  as  I  could  wish. 
This  day  week  I  confined  myself  to  the  house,  and  took 
some  bark,  that  has  relieved  me,  and  am  now  better,  and  I 
should  have  dined  with  Gurney  to  day,  but  the  rain  induced 
me  to  accept  of  a  seat  in  Mr.  Braxton's  coach,  and  I  have 
been  at  Mr.  Robert  Morris'  country-house,  with  a  set  of 
people  who  think  and  act  alike — some  consolation  in  these 
times. 

"As  our  Assembly  are  to  meet  to-morrow  week,  I  shall 
have  a  proper  excuse  to  return  to  you  the  last  of  this.  Be 
assured  I  wish  it  most  sincerely.  Preserve  your  spirits, 
and  an  equanimity  of  mind,  for  your  health's  sake.  Ban 
ish  your  fears — all  may  be  right — a  few  weeks  may  dis 
cover  much,  I  hope,  in  our  favor.  God  preserve  you  and 
our  little  ones,  and  believe  me  yours  most  affectionately, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  14th  May,  1776. 

«  p.S. — I  expect  Mr.  Rogers,  of  Maryland,  to  carry  this. 
If  you  see  him,  treat  him  as  my  old  acquaintance.  I  am 
told  the  second  frigate  was  launched  to-day.  James  and 
Tom  Read  send  their  love  to  you." 

In  the  month  of  May,  1776,  it  was  evident  that  Congress 
would  soon  have  before  them  the  question  whether  the 
thirteen  American  Colonies  should  or  not,  by  a  formal  act, 
throw  off  their  dependence  upon  Great  Britain.  Congress 
took  a  decisive*  step  towards  independence  by  recommend 
ing,  on  the  6th  of  that  month,  to  the  colonies  the  establish 
ment  of  permanent  governments,  instead  of  the  temporary 
ones  under  which  justice  had  been  administered,  order  pre 
served,  and  the  contest  with  the  common  enemy  main 
tained. 

Richard  Henry  Lee  moved  on  the  7th  of  June,  seconded 
by  John  Adams,  the  resolution  "that  the  United  Colonies 
are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  states, 
and  that  the  political  connection  between  them  and  Great 
Britain  is,  and  ought  to  be,  totally  dissolved."  This  resolu 
tion  was  debated  on  the  8th  and  10th  days  of  June  by 
Congress  in  committee  of  the  whole,  and,  it  appearing  "  that 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  were 

*   See  Appendix  P. 


162  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

not  yet  matured  for  falling  from  the  parent  stem,  but  were 
rapidly  maturing  to  that  state,  it  was  thought  prudent  to 
wait  awhile  for  them,  and  to  postpone  the  final  decision 
till  July  the  first."* 

The  condemnatory  judgment  of  some  of  my  countrymen 
upon  those  who  voted  against  the  resolve  of  independence 
cannot,  I  think,  bear  the  test  of  impartial  consideration. 
These  persons  have  viewed  that  measure  from  a  stand-point 
different  from  that  of  the  American  senators  who  de 
liberated  and  voted  upon  it,  and  without  the  feeling  of 
mighty  responsibility  pressing  upon  them.  Time  has  made 
what  was  then  doubtful  certain.  Was  there  no  ground  for 
doubt  whether  the  great  measure  was  not  premature  ?  Let 
it  be  remembered  that  the  question  was  only  as  to  time. 
Would  not  the  declaration  be  worse  than  in  vain  if  the 
people  were  not  ready  to  welcome  it.  Were  they  ready  ? 
Had  not  delegations  of  colonies  appeared  in  Congress  without 
instructions  to  vote  for  independence — nay,  some  with  in 
structions  to  oppose  it  ?  In  the  brief  period  which  had 
elapsed  since  the  election  of  those  delegates,  had  so  great  a 
change  taken  place  in  the  public  mind  on  this  question  as 
was  alleged  ?  Would  not  a  premature  declaration  be  dis 
astrous  ?  Could  foreign  aid  be  truly  counted  on  ?  Would 
monarchical  governments  become  the  patrons  of  democracy, 
and  embark  their  noble  officers  and  *•  plebeian  soldiers  to 
fight  its  battles,  and  bring  home  its  principles,  the  seed,  to 
be  sown  broadcast,  of  revolution  there?  Had  they  no 
colonists  who  would  but  too  readily  follow  the  example  of 
successful  revolt  from  the  iron  rule  of  a  parent  state?  Had 
the  obscure  English  staymaker,  by  a  pamphlet  of  a  few 
pages,  in  the  brief  period  of  three  or  four  months,  wrought 
all  the  marvels  claimed  for  it,  equalling  those  of  the  most 
remarkable  uninspired  writings  upon  the  opinions  of  men  ? 
Was  it  true  that  thousands  who,  on  New  Year's  day,  1776, 
still  spoke  of  England  as  "  home,"  and  the  king  as  "  their 
gracious  monarch,"  misled,  only  for  a  time,  by  evil  counsel 
lors,  had  awakened  from  their  fatuity  ?  When  Paine  pro 
claimed  the  monstrous  folly  of  paying  the  enormous  price 
of  conflagrated  towns,  of  countrymen  slaughtered  in  battle 
or  destroyed  in  the  foul  holds  of  prison-ships,  of  other 

*  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  i.  p.  17. 


OF  GEORGE   BEAD.  163 

thousands  reduced  to  widowhood  and  orphanage,  and  all 
the  calamities  of  civil  war,  for  a  mere  accommodation, 
which  would  leave  them  still  a  dependent  people,  he  told 
the  truth;  but  were  the  colonists  convinced  that  it  was  the 
truth  ?  When  he  said  to  those,  and  they  were  many,  who 
only  asked,  "  Bring  us  back  to  the  state  we  were^  in  in 
1763,"  that  this  was  impossible,  for,  though  obnoxious  laws 
might  be  repealed,  the  feelings  of  that  period  could  never 
be  revived,  he  told  them  the  truth;  but  were  they  convinced 
of  it  ?  When  he  said  to  the  colonists,  Unless  you  strike  for 
something  higher  and  nobler  than,  a  mere  compromise, 
which  at  best  could  be  but  temporary,  you  engage  in  a  mis 
erable  game,  he  again  told  them  the  truth;  but  did  they 
perceive  that  the  play  was  not  worth  the  candle  ?  The 
conclusions  of  "  Common  Sense,"  it  was  urged,  were  true, 
and  his  reasoning  irrefutable,  but  the  change  of  opinion  it 
was  claimed  they  had  wrought  was  so  great  and  marvellous 
that  it  was  prudent  to  wait  for  more  evidence  than  Congress 
had  of  it.  Independence  must  be  declared,  it  was  admitted, 
but  it  did  riot  follow  that  it  must  then  be  declared.  Delay 
of  a  few  months  could  do  no  harm,  on  the  contrary  might 
insure  the  success  of  the  great  measure.  Those  were  over- 
sanguine  who  expected  great  immediate  effects  upon  foreign 
nations  from  the  "  Declaration  :"  France,  for  instance,  would 
hardly  march  fifty  thousand  men  into  Germany  to  make  a 
diversion  in  favor  of  the  colonies.  It  was  not  the  declara 
tion  of  independence  by  the  colonies,  but  their  manifested 
ability  to  maintain  it,  that  would  determine  France,  and 
Spain,  and  Holland,  to  enter  into  treaties  of  alliance  with 
them.  The  declaration,  then,  would  gain  nothing  for  the 
colonists  abroad,  and  might  drive  numbers,  more  timid  or 
cautious  or  less  enthusiastic  than  others,  into  the  ranks  of 
the  loyalists  and  Tories,  who,  if  not  disturbed  in  the  calm 
exercise  of  their  judgment  by  so  strong  a  resolve,  would  in 
no  long  time  be  convinced  that  independence  was  the  only 
measure  which  could  insure  permanent  peace,  safety,  and 
prosperity  to  the  American  colonies.  Did  not  the  very 
anxiety  for  foreign  alliance  indicate  doubt  of  the  ability  of 
America  to  maintain  the  contest  unaided  ?  There  was  no 
oracle  to  which  the  American  senators  could  bring  these 
doubts  for  solution.  They  asked  for  delay  of  this  great  step, 
and  not  for  its  rejection,  for  all  were  in  favor  of  it.  Was 


164  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

this  unreasonable,  when  it  was  admitted,  in  the  language  of 
Mr.  Jefferson,  "  that  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  and  Maryland  were  not  yet  matured  for  falling 
from  the  parent  stem,  but  were  fast  advancing  to  that  con 
dition"?*  When  the  only  concession  to  their  doubts  and 
fears  was  a  delay  of  less  than  one  month,  was  it  unreason 
able  in 'them  not  to  be  satisfied?  .  Mr.  Read,  looking,  as  he 
was  especially  bound  to  do,  to  the  effect  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  upon  his  own  colony,  where  disaffection  to 
the  Continental  Congress  was  great,  and  the  hostility  be 
tween  the  Whigs  and  Tories  most  virulent,  could  scarcely 
1  hope  that  it  would  be  like  that  of  oil  on  troubled  water. 

Mr.  Read's  instructions  of  March  22d,  1776  (ante,  page 
149),  did  not  authorize  him  to  vote  for  independence,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  by  enjoining  upon  him  and  his  colleagues  to 
embrace  every  favorable  opportunity  to  effect  reconciliation 
with  Great  Britain,  impliedly  forbade  such  vote.  But  on 
the  14th  of  June,  1776,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  three 
lower  counties  upon  Delaware  gave,  by  unanimous  vote, 
new  instructions,  which,  though  not  directly,  yet  virtually, 
empowered  them  to  assent  to  a  declaration  of  independence, 
while  they  left  them  at  liberty  to  vote  for  or  against  it  as 
they  might  deem  best  or  most  expedient,  thus  indicating 
the  greatest  confidence  in  their  wisdom  and  integrity.  These 
instructions  are  as  follows : 

"INSTRUCTIONS  TO  THE  DEPUTIES  APPOINTED  BY  THIS  GOVERN 
MENT  TO  MEET  IN  GENERAL  CONGRESS  WHICH  WERE  APPROVED 

UNANIMOUSLY  :f 

"First,  That  you  concur  with  the  other  delegates  in  Con 
gress  in  forming  such  further  compacts  between  the  United 
Colonies,  and  concluding  such  treaties  with  foreign  kingdoms 
and  states,  and  in  adopting  such  other  measures  as  shall  be 
judged  necessary  for  promoting  the  liberty,  safety,  and  in 
terests  of  America,  reserving  to  the  people  of  this  colony 
the  sole  and  exclusive  right  of  regulating  the  internal 
government  and  police  of  the  same. 

"Second,  On  every  necessary  occasion  you  are  firmly  to 

*  Jofferson's  Writings,  vol.  i.  p.  17. 

f  Pennsylvania  Journal  and  Weekly  Advertiser,  Xo.  1T50,  Wednes 
day,  June  loth,  1776. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  1G5 

urge  the  right  of  this  government  to  an  equal  voice  in  Con 
gress  with  any  other  province  or  government  on  this  conti 
nent,  as  the  inhabitants  thereof  have  their  all  at  stake,  as 
well  as  others. 

"Extract  from  the  minutes  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex  on  Delaware. 

"JAMES  BOOTH,*  Cleric. 

"Jimp  14th,  1776." 

Until  the  resolution  declaring  the  colonies  free  and  inde 
pendent  states  was  adopted,  Mr.  Read,  being  of  opinion  that 
the  measure  was  premature,  was  bound  to  oppose  and  vote 
against  i^  and  he  did  so;  but  when  (July  2d)  it  was  adopted 
there  was  presented  for  his  decision  the  question,  "Should 
he  sign  the  Declaration,  or  not?"  He  was  not  opposed  to 
the  measure,  which  would  have  been  an  insuperable  objec 
tion  :  therefore,  why  not  sign  ?  Would  his  refusal  to  do  so 
rescind  the  resolve?  No,  for  it  was  un  fait  accompli;  but 
it  would  aid  the  opponents  of  the  measure  in  their  efforts 
to  prevent  its  sanction  by  the  people,  and  if  that  should 
not  be  given  it  might  be  fatal  to  success  in  the  struggle 
with  Britain.  If  he  withheld  his  signature,  he  could  not 
be  re-elected,  it  was  probable,  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
nor  to  any  public  station,  and  would  thus  be  deprived  of  all 
power  to  serve  his  country.  Should  he  not,  then,  yield  his 
own  opinion,  on  a  mere  question  of  expediency,  to  a  major 
ity  of  delegates,  almost  a  unanimity, — his  own  colleagues 
being  part  of  it, — when  he  could  perceive  no  possible 
beneti t  to  his  country  from  maintaining  this  opinion  ?  True, 
if  he  set  his  name  to  the  instrument  which  proclaimed  that 
the  thirteen  American  colonies  had  taken  their  place  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  his  risk  of  life  and  estate  would  be 
much  increased,  should  the  British  triumph;  but  superior 
to  ?i  consideration  purely  selfish,  as  was  this,  he  signed  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,-]-  and  when  Joseph  Galloway 
tauntingly  said  "he  had  done  so  with  a  rope  about  his 


*  See  Appendix  A,  post,  of  this  chapter. 

These  instructions  were  the  same  as  those  of  the  Pennsylvania  dele 
gates,  June,  1776,  for  which  see  Pitkin's  History  of  the  United  States, 
vol.  vi.  pp.  263,  264. 

"I"  See  Appendix  (to  chapter  iii.)  C. 


166  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

neck,"  he  replied,  "  I  know  the  risk,  and  am  prepared  for 
all  consequences." 

While  John  Dickinson,  whose  services  in  the  early 
stages  of  the  contest  had  been  so  great,  and  his  popu 
larity  commensurate,  voting  against  the  Declaration  and 
refusing  to  sign  it,  had  fallen  from  his  exalted  place  in 
the  esteem  and  confidence  of  his  countrymen,  Mr.  Read, 
with  James  Wilson,  and  the  great  financier  Robert  Morris, 
who  voted  with  Dickinson,  but  afterwards  affixed  their 
names  to  that  instrument,  were  re-elected  year  after  year 
to  the  Continental  Congress;  and  Mr.  Read,  in  his  own 
county,  where  the  Whigs  wrere  numerous  and  influential, 
to  the  Assembly  and  Council  of  his  State.  The  reason 
is  obvious.  Those  best  qualified  to  judge  them  discrimi 
nated  between  a  vote  against  independence  as  premature, 
and  hostility  to  that  great  measure;  and  yet,  at  a  later 
period,  men  wiser  in  their  own  conceit  than  the  constitu 
ents  of  these  patriots  have  classed  them  for  this  vote  with 
loyalists  and  Tories.  While  I  maintain  that  contemporaries 
are  to  be  esteemed  the  best  judges  on  this  question,  because 
the  best  informed  upon  it,  I  do  not  hold  they  were  infalli 
ble,  but  think  they  judged  John  Dickinson  hardly.*  He, 
with  all  the  speakers,  Mr.  Jefferson  declares,  in  the  memor 
able  debate  on  the  resolution  that  the  thirteen  colonies 
ought  to  be  declared  independent  of  Britain,  avowed  them 
selves  in  favor  of  that  measure,  and  opposed  it  as  prema 
ture,  and,  as  appears  by  his  summary  of  their  arguments, 
urged  none  against  independence.  The  difference  between 
Mr.  Dickinson  and  Mr.  Read,  it  seems  to  me,  was  that  the 
first  was  timid,  the  last  cautious. 

Whatever  diversity  of  opinion  may  have  existed  as  to 
the  time  of  adopting  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  the 
strictest  union  and  co-operation  were  observed  when  its 
immediate  necessity  was  impressed  upon  the  minds  of  the 
minority.  The  glory  of  the  enterprise  in  which  they  had 
embarked  appeared  the  same  to  all,  and  all  regarded  inde 
pendence  as  the  only  security  for  peace  and  liberty.  With 

*  "  John  Dickinson's  opposition  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
was  an  example  of  moral  courage  of  which  there  are  few  instances  in 
our  history." — Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  series  ii., 
p.  330. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  167 

them  peace  and  liberty  were  indissolubl}7  connected ;  "  et 
nomen  pacis  dulce  est,  et  ipsa  res  salutaris;  sed  inter  pacem 
et  servitutem  plurirnum  interest;  pax  est  tranquilla  libertas 
servitus  malorum  omnium  postremum;  non  modo  bello,  sed 
morte  repellendum."*  Such  were  the  sentiments  of  our 
forefathers,  and  in  the  fruits  of  their  toil,  their  sacrifices, 
and  their  wisdom,  we  enjoy  the  repose  of  liberty,  and  they 
have  merited  and  obtained  a  high  and  noble  station  among 
the  heroes  and  patriots  of  the  world.f 

After  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  General  Howe  retired 
with  his  army  to  Halifax,  there  to  await  expected  reinforce 
ments.  But,  from  the  commanding  hill  on  which  Halifax 
is  built,  week  after  week  he  in  vain  strained  his  eyes  to 
catch  the  first  glimpse  of  the  longed-for  fleet  parting  the 
translucent  surface  of  Chebucto  Bay.  His  troops  suffered 
for  want  of  fresh  provisions,  and  impatience  of  inaction ; 
winter  lingered  with  the  murky  fogs  common  in  that  season 
in  Nova  Scotia,  and  every  passing  hour  took  from  the  brief 
period  for  aetive  operations  against  the  rebels.  He  deter 
mined  to  sail  for  the  vicinity  of  New  York  and  await 
reinforcements  there.  The  plan  of  the  contemplated  cam 
paign  against  the  Americans  was  judicious.  It  had  three 
objects, — the  recovery  of  Canada,  with  the  opening,  as  a 
consequence,  of  the  communication  with  New  York  by  the 
lakes,  an  attack  upon  the  Southern  colonies,  and  the  occu 
pation  of  the  city  of  New  York,  with  the  islands  and 
territory  adjacent  to  it.  The  Americans  were  excited  and 
anxious,  and  well  they  might  be  so.  Congress  was  debating 
in  secret  session  the  question  of  independence,  and  the  re 
sult  of  this  debate  was  momently  expected,  and  at  the  same 
time  everywhere  men  watched  for  the  jaded  express-rider 
with  the  announcement  that  the  British  fleet  had  anchored 
in  New  York  Bay.  There  wras  no  room  to  doubt  that  New 
York  would  be  attacked.  Occupying  New  York  and  the 

*  Cicero. — Oratio  in  Marcum  Antonium,  section  xliv.  p.  652. 

f  The  Continental  Congress  sat  with  closed  doors;  and  if  Mr.  Jeffer 
son  had  not  taken  notes  of  the  debate  in  committee  of  the  whole,  on 
the  motion  of  the  Virginia  delegation  that  the  thirteen  colonies  should 
be  declared  independent,  this  debate  would  have  been  lost  to  history. 
I  subjoin,  as  an  appendix  to  this  chapter  of  Mr.  Read's  life,  Mr.  Jeft'er- 
son's  "  Summary  of  this  Debate,"  for  the  reader's  convenience.  See 
Appendix  B. 


168  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

islands  in  its  vicinity,  and  having,  as  was  certain  from  naval 
superiority,  command  of  its  waters,  Sir  William  Howe  could 
from  that  point  choose  his  theatre  of  operation  in  the  State 
of  New  York  or  New  England,  the  Middle  or  Southern  colo 
nies,  while  the  fertile  neighboring  islands  and  country  would 
furnish  abundant  supplies  for  his  army,  and  its  presence 
embolden  the  American  loyalists,  who  were  numerous,  and, 
having  command  of  the  Hudson,  he  could  prevent,  or  at 
least  make  difficult,  the  communication  between  New  Eng 
land  and  the  Middle  and  Southern  colonies.  New  York, 
immediately  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  was  occupied 
and  fortified  by  the  American  army,  and  Long  Island,  with 
out  the  possession  of  which  it  was  untenable.  Should  the 
attempt  be  made  to  hold  both  ?  The  almost  universal  response 
was  in  the  affirmative.  The  successes  of  our  armies,  crowned 
by  the  recent  repulse  of  the  British  in  their  attack  upon  Fort 
Moultrie,  had  inspired  confidence  in  our  troops,  which  Gen 
eral  Washington  by  no  means  shared.  The  inherent  vices 
of  our  military  system,  short  enlistments  and  reliance  upon 
hasty  levies  of  militia,  the  subjects  of  his  frequent  repre 
sentation  and  remonstrance  to  Congress,  made  it  but  too 
evident  to  him  that  an  army  thus  constituted  could  not 
cope  with  disciplined  and  veteran  soldiers  in  the  open  field. 
But,  in  the  state  of  opinion  in  Congress  and  without  it,  to 
have  retreated  from  Long  Island  and  New  York  without  a 
contest  would  have  been  almost  as  injurious  to  the  American 
cause  as  defeat;  besides,  as  the  American  army  had  defensi 
ble  heights  in  front  of  their  fortified  camp  in  the  rear  of 
Brooklyn,  they  might,  with  hope  of  success,  venture  a  battle. 
Washington  resolved  to  await  the  attack  of  the  British. 
The  Greyhound  frigate,  with  General  Howe  on  board,  with 
seven  transports  conveying  a  regiment  of  Highlanders, 
towards  the  end  of  June  was  descried  from  Sandy  Hook, 
and  was  soon  followed  by  the  first  and  rear  divisions  of  his 
army.  The  ink  was  scarcely  dry  of  the  first  general  signa 
ture  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  on  the  4th  of  July, 
when  General  Howe  completed  the  debarkation  of  his  army 
on  Staten  Island.  On  the  23d  of  August,  in  the  period  in 
tervening  between  that  time  and  his  arrival  in  the  Grey 
hound,  having  been  every  day,  almost,  reinforced  by  troops 
from  England  and  those  detached  to  the  Southern  colonies, 
he  landed  his  army,  with  its  artillery,  except  a  small  reserve, 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  169 

on  Long  Island,  at  Gravesend  Bay.  His  plan  of  attack  was 
judicious.  It  was  to  engage  the  attention  of  the  Americans* 
by  feints  upon  their  center  and  right  wing,  while  General 
Clinton,  with  a  strong  division,  should  essay  to  turn  their 
left  Hank,  and  get  into  their  rear.  The  engagement  began 
at  daybreak,  August  27th.  General  Clinton  finding  the  pass 
by  the  Bedford  road  unguarded  seized  it,  advanced  into  the 
plain  between  it  and  Brooklyn,  and  attacked  and  routed 
the  left  wing  of  the  American  army,  while  its  center,  at 
Flatbush,  and  its  right,  on  the  coast-road,  were  assailed  and 
defeated  by  Generals  Heister  and  Grant,  the  Americans 
fighting  at  the  greatest  disadvantage,  when  the  enemy,  by 
Clinton's  successful  movement,  engaged  them  at  the  same 
time  in  front  and  rear.  There  seems  to  me  some  ground 
for  censure  of  General  Putnam,  and  perhaps  of  the  Ameri 
can  eommancler-in-ehief,  for  not  sufficiently  guarding  the 
Bedford  road.  General  Sullivan  commanded-)-  the  whole 
force  defending  the  wooded  heights.  It  is  true,  his  force 
was  inadequate  to  defend  these  heights,  which  were  pass 
able  everywhere  by  infantry,  and  through  which  led  three 
roads,  any  one  of  which  the  enemy  might  choose  for  his 
main  assault;  but  as  his  only  mode  of  remedying  his  defi 
ciency  of  troops  was  by  his  immediate  knowledge  of  the 
point  of  that  assault  and  prompt  reinforcement  of  the 
division  guarding  it,  and  he  seems  not  to  have  given  its 
due  share  of  attention  to  the  Bedford  road,  so  that  the  left 
flank  of  the  American  army  was  surprised  and  turned, 
there  seems  room  to  impute  to  him  some  deficiency  of 
vigilance.  But  if  censure  attaches  to  him  or  his  superiors, 
it  is  much  alleviated  by  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  The 
want  of  vedettes  seems  to  me  an  insufficient  excuse  for  the 
surprise  of  the  American  left  wing;  for  though  cavalry  wrere 

*  Brooklyn,  where  the  Americans  were  posted,  is  situated  on  a  small 
peninsula  formed  by  the  East  River,  the  Bay  of  New  York,  and  Gowairs 
Cove.  The  American  lines  were  at  the  back  of  Brooklyn,  then  a  village, 
and  looked  towards  the  mainland  of  Long  Island  :  they  extended  across 
the  peninsula,  from  Whaaleboght  Bay,  in  the  East  River,  on  the  left,  to 
a  deep  marsh,  on  a  creek,  debouching  into  Gowan's  Cove,  on  the  right, 
and  in  front  of  these  lines  wooded  hills  stretched  almost  the  length  of 
the  island,  their  rear  being  covered  and  protected  by  formidable  batteries 
on  Reclhook,  Governor's  Island,  and  East  River,  the  last  mentioned  of 
which  kept  open  the  communication  with  New  York. 

f  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  441. 

12 


170  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

wanting,  yet,  as  there  were  horses,  and  men  to  mount  upon 
them,  a  commander  of  any  resource  would  have  extemporized 
vedettes. *  The  masterly  retreat  of  our  army,  in  the  face 
of  the  enemy,  more  numerous,  better  disciplined,  and  elated 
by  victory,-}*  consoled  the  Americans,  in  some  degree,  under 
their  defeat,  was  almost  as  creditable  to  Washington  as  a 
victory,  and  reanimated  the  drooping  confidence  of  his 
countrymen  in  his  generalship.  The  fog,  such  as  had  not 
been  known  in  August  for  thirty  years,  which,  while  it  was 
clear  in  New  York,  hung  over  Long  Island  and  veiled  the 
retreating  army  till  its  rear  was  beyond  the  fire  of  the  Brit 
ish,  was  hailed,  not  only  by  enthusiastic  and  superstitious 
but  by  sober-minded  Americans,  as  a  sign  that  God  was  their 
ally,  as  He,  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth,  took  part  with  the  Israel 
ites  when  the  pillar  of  cloud,  at  his  command,  went  from 
before  their  face  and  stood  between  them  and  the  pursuing 
host  of  Egypt.  This  brief  notice  of  the  movements  of  the 
British  army  after  the  evacuation  of  Boston,  and  of  the 
battle  of  Brooklyn,  seems  necessary  to  introduce  the  follow 
ing  letters  of  Colonel  Bedford  and  General  Rodney,  which, 
now  first  published,  furnish  some  facts  additional  to  the 
history  of  this  battle.  The  biography  of  a  public  man  must, 
to  be  coherent  and  intelligible,  have  interwoven  with  it 
portions  of  the  general  history  of  his  times,  at  the  risk  of 
wearying  readers  familiar  with  it. 

"  NEW  YORK,  27th  [August],  1776. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  should  have  wrote  you  before  this,  but 
want  of  time  and  opportunity  and  nothing  worth  commu 
nicating  are  the  reasons  I  did  not.  A  day  or  two  after 
our  arrival  at  this  place  we  were  furnished  with  tents,  and 
encamped  about  two  miles  out  of  the  city,  up  the  North 
River,  till  yesterday,  when  our  brigade,  which  is  Lord  Ster- 


*  This  be  alleged  that  be  did.  Letter  to  John  Hancock,  25th  October, 
1777. 

f  "  To  do  full  justice  to  this  masterly  retreat,  it  must  be  considered 
that  they  [the  Americans]  had  been  driven  to  the  corner  of  an  island, 
where  they  were  inclosed  in  a  space  of  two  square  miles,  with  near 
20,000  disciplined  troops  in  front,  and  in  the  rear  an  arm  of  the  sea  near 
a  mile  wide,  which  could  not  be  crossed  but  in  several  debarkations,  and 
notwithstanding  these  obstacles  they  did  not  lose  a  man,  and  carried  off 
the  greater  part  of  their  provisions,  ammunition,  and  artillery." — Bis- 
sett's  Bistort/  of  the  Reign  of  George  III.,  vol.  i.  p.  401. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  171 

ling's,  were  ordered  and  marched  to  Long  Island,  about 
three  miles  from  this,  and  within  two  of  the  enemy,  at  a 
place  called  Flatbush,  of  which  they  have  taken  possession 
with  a  large  advanced  party.  Our  people.  I  am  told,  are 
advantageously  posted,  being  in  possession  of  the  heights. 
Our  army  on  Long  Island  is  said  to  be  ten  or  twelve  thou 
sand.  It  is  conjectured  the  enemy  are  nearly  the  same. 
Lord  Sterling's  brigade  consists  of  Miles'  two  battalions, 
Atlee's,  Smnliwood's,  Hechlin's,  of  Lancaster  County, 
Shutze's,  of  York  County,  and  our  regiment,  which  is 
thought  here  to  be  a  fine  brigade,  the  flower  of  the  army. 

"  1  should  have  gone  over  yesterday,  but  a  general 
court-martial  sitting,  of  which  I  was  a  member,  prevented 
me.  It  was  for  the  trial  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Zidwitz,  of 
a  New  York  regiment,  for  correspondence  with  the  enemy. 
A  letter  of  his  to  Governor  Tryon  was  detected  before  the 
delivery  of  it,  in  which  he  proposes  to  furnish  the  general 
with  a  weekly  return  of  our  army,  and  to  be  every  other 
way  at  his  service,  for  a  proper  gratuity.  He  was  found 
guilty  of  the  attempt,  and  sentenced  to  be  cashiered.  He 
certainly  deserved  more,  but  the  'Articles  of  War'  seem  a 
little  defective,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  come  off  so 
well.  [Diary  of  the  Revolution,  vol.  i.  pp.  299,  305 ;  vol. 
ii.  p.  157.] 

"We  have  just  received  intelligence  of  a  fleet  being  seen 
in  the  sound,  about  sixty  or  seventy  miles  from  this  place, 
to  the  eastward,  which  will  cut  oft*  the  water-communica 
tion  with  the  Eastern  colonies.  It  has  been  long  expected. 
Since  our  being  here,  every  tide  has  given  us  expectation 
of  the  enemy's  approach.  The  fleet  since  their  landing  the 
troops  on  Long  Island  is  much  diminished.  There  seems 
at  this  time  six  sail  of  men-of-war  in  motion.  We  must 
have  a  large  army  here  and  on  Long  Island,  but  I  believe 
not  so  many  as  is  generally  said.  They  talk  [of]  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  thousand.  The  Eastern  regiments  in  general 
are  very  small.  The  works  here  arc  strong  and  extensive, 
and  will  require  many  men  to  occupy  them. 

"  The  report  of  last  night  from  Long  Island  was  that  the 
enemy  are  much  annoyed  by  our  people,  they  scarcely  dar 
ing  to  go  outside  of  their  breastworks  at  Flatbush.  About 
two  thousand  Hessians,  it  is  said,  are  on  Long  Island,  and 
at  the  advanced  post.  I  heard  Lord  Sterling  yesterday  say 


172  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

about  twenty  of  them  are  killed.  We  have  lost  two  [killed] 
and  three  wounded.  He  likewise  said  he  yesterday  saw 
•them  kill  a  horse,  cut  him  up,  and  dress  him.  Our  people 
are  well  supplied  with  provisions,  and  I  hope  on  Long 
Island  they  will  be  furnished  with  water,  which  at  this 
place  was  rather  scarce  and  not  good. 

"If  I  should  have  the  pleasure  of  hearing  from  you, 
please  direct  your  letter  to  be  left  at  Mr.  Bradford's  Coffee- 
House,  New  York.  Remember  me,  if  you  please,  affection 
ately  to  James  and  Thomas. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  affectionate  brother, 

"G.  BEDFORD.* 

"  To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Philadelphia." 

Colonel  Bedford  writes  again  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"  NEW  YORK,  September  1st,  ITT 6. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Eight  days  ago  I  wrote  you,  per  post,  in 
forming  you  we  were  ordered  to  Long  Island.  Immediately 
on  our  going  there,  intelligence  was  received  that  the  enemy 
were  advancing  in  three  large  bodies.  Our  brigade,  under 
Lord  Sterling,  was  quickly  ordered  out  to  meet  them,  which 
they  did  in  a  short  time.  We  found  their  numbers  were 
three  to  one,  with  a  large  train  of  artillery,  and  [they]  had 
possessed  themselves  of  the  most  advantageous  situations 
and  passes,  notwithstanding  which  Lord  Sterling  would 
engage.  Colonel  Miles'  two  battalions  suffered  much,  as 
did  also  Colonel  Atlee's,  having  lost  at  least  one-half  of 
each,  with  a  number  of  officers.  Colonel  Parry  was  killed, 
as  is  supposed,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Piper,  with  Colonel  Miles 
and  Colonel  Atlee  taken  prisoners.  Lieutenants  Stewart 
and  Harney  of  our  regiment,  we  fear,  are  among  the  slain, 
as  there  was  no  account  of  their  being  prisoners,  and  we 
had  a  .flag  from  the  enemy  informing  who  were.  Major 
McDonough,  Lieutenant  Anderson,  and  Ensign  Course  are 
slightly  wounded,  all  except  Course  being  fit  for  duty  the 

*  The  Council  of  Safety  of  the  "Three  Lower  Counties  on  Dela 
ware"  having  recommended  sundry  gentlemen  for  field-officers  of  the 
battalion  ordered  to  be  raised  in  that  colony,  the  Congress,  on  Tuesday, 
January  19th,  1776,  proceeded  to  an  election,  and,  the  ballots  being 
taken,  John  Haslet,  Esquire,  was  elected  colonel,  and  Gunning  Bedford, 
Esquire,  lieutenant- colonel. — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  i.  p.  30. 


OF  GEOEGE   EEAD.  173 

next  day.  General  Sullivan  and  Lord  Sterling  were  taken 
prisoners,  Lord  Sterling  not  until  the  last,  as  he  kept  Colonel 
Small  wood's  and  our  regiment  four  hours  after  every  other1 
regiment  had  retreated  from  the  field,  drawn  up  for  battle 
in  sight  of  five  brigades  of  the  enemy,  who  were  surround 
ing  us  fast,  when  we  received  orders  to  retreat.  On  our 

O 

retreat  our  regiment  filed  off  [to]  the  left  in  pursuit  of  a 
small  detachment  of  the  enemy,  which  we  made  prisoners, 
— a  lieutenant,  twenty-three  grenadiers,  and  three  Hessians. 
Smallwood  proceeded  on,  and  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of  at 
least  double  their  number.     They  engaged  them,  and  lost 
near  three  hundred  men,  killed  and  taken  prisoners.     I 
am  just  informed  General  Sullivan  came  up  to  New  York 
last  evening  to  negotiate  an  exchange  of  prisoners.     The 
proposal  is  Lord  Sterling  and  General  Sullivan  for  General 
Prescott  and  General  Grant,  who  they  supposed  might  be 
a  prisoner;  but  our  people  say  he  fell  on  the  field,  and  that 
his  hat,  with  his   name   in  the  inside,   and  a  bullet-hole 
through  it,  is  brought  in.     I  don't  know  the  certainty  of  it, 
as  I  have  not  been  out  of  our  camp  since  here,  and  have  it 
only  by  the  report  now  in  camp.     I  forgot  to  mention  that 
it  was  thought  advisable  to  retreat  from  Long  Island  to 
this  place,  our  lines   there   being  but  indifferent,  and  our 
people  very  sickly.     We  expect  with  our  brigade  to  go  to 
King's-Bridge  this  day  or  to-morrow :  part  of  it  are  gone  ;  it 
is  now  General  Miftlin's  brigade.     It  is  supposed  the  enemy 
will  attempt  that  pass  next.     The  men-of-war,  in  number 
twenty,  are  within  a  mile  arid  a  half  of  this  place,  New 
York.     Their  troops,  it  is  supposed,  are  all  on  Long  Island. 
I  wish  it  may  be  in  my  power  to  inform  you  in  my  next  of 
some  agreeable  news — what  I  have  given  you  must  be  the 
reverse.     This  opportunity  has  waited  with   some   impa 
tience  ;  I  therefore  must  conclude,  with  my  compliments  to 
Mrs.  Read,  and  love  to  the  children. 

"  Your  affectionate  brother,  and  humble  servant, 

'-  GUNNING  BEDFORD. 
"  To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Philadelphia." 

Caesar  Rodney  writes  to  Mr.  Read,  then  presiding  in  the 
convention  which  framed  the  first  constitution  of  Delaware, 
as  follows,  from 


174  LIFE   AND    COBRESPONDEXCE 

" PHILADELPHIA,  September  4th,  1776. 

"SiR, — Inclosed  you  have  a  resolution*  of  Congress. 
One  of  these  papers  was  delivered  to  the  delegates  of  each 
colony,  to  be  by  them  transmitted  to  their  several  Assem 
blies  or  Conventions,  that  order  might  be  taken  thereon. 

"I  mentioned  in  my  last  the  arrival  of  General  Sullivan, 
and  then  hinted  the  business  of  his  coming.  The  day  I 
wrote  you  last  he  was  admitted  in  Congress,  and  informed 
them  that  he  had  been  on  board  the  Eagle,  and  there  had 
private  conversation  with  Lord  Howe:  the  substance  of 
which  was  that  his  lordship  declared  that  he  had  ample 
powers,  together  with  the  general,  to  settle  matters  between 
Great  Britain  and  colonies  in  such  a  manner  as  should  be 
for  the  true  interest  and  benefit  of  both,  and  to  make  such 
settlement  permanent:  that  he  wished  for  nothing  more 
than  to  converse  with  General  Washington,  or  some  one  or 
more  members  of  Congress,  on  that  head;  but  that  there 
was  a  difficulty  in  the  way  which  prevents  it,  for  that  his 
rank  and  situation  was  attended  with  that  kind  of  delicacy 
that  he  could  not  treat  with  the  Congress  as  such,  and  had 
no  doubt  that  the  Congress,  from  their  situation,  lay  under 
the  same  difficulty;  therefore  [he]  proposed  his  having  con 
versation  of  an  hour  or  two  with  some  of  the  members  as 
private  gentlemen:  that  he  would  meet  them  in  that  char 
acter  also  wherever  they  pleased:  that  he  did  not  doubt, 
by  this  step,  matters  might  be  put  in  a  train  of  accommo 
dation  ;  if  not,  that  it  would  only  be  so  much  time  lost : 
that  his  lordship  further  said,  that  he  had  staid  in  England 
two  months,  after  he  was  otherwise  ready  to  come,  on  pur 
pose  to  obtain  those  ample  powers  before  mentioned,  by 
which  means  the  Declaration  of  Independence  had  taken 
place  before  his  arrival.  There  was  other  conversation, 
such  as  that  his  lordship  thought  this  a  fine  country,  that 
he  had  many  friends  and  acquaintances  here,  and  that  he 
should  be  pleased  much  to  have  an  opportunity  to  ride 
through  the  country  to  see  them,  etc.  You,  sir,  may  be 
desirous  to  know  what  Congress  think  of  this  message 
delivered  by  Sullivan  at  the  request  of  Lord  Howe.  To 
satisfy  your  desire,  I  think  I  may  venture  to  say  that  a 

*  For,  I  suppose,  the  enlistment  of  a  permanent  army.  Marshall's 
Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  456. 


OF  GEOEGE    READ.  175 

very  great  majority  of  the  members  look  on  it  as  an  insult,  A 
and  [1]  believe  a  resolution  will  pass  that  no  proposals  for 
the  future  be  received  unless  reduced  to  writing,  and  signed 
[by]  some  person  who  has  authority  to  treat  with  the  Con 
gress  as  an  assembly  of  the  United  Independent  States  of 
America,  or  to  that  effect. 

"From  certain  intelligence  received  since  I  wrote  last, 
Colonel  Haslet,  Colonel  Small  wood,  and  Colonel  Bedford 
were  sitting  on  a  court-martial  in  York  at  the  time  the 
Delawares  and  Marylanders  were  engaged  with  the  enemy  :* 
that  those  two  battalions  fought  as  bravely  as  men  could 
possibly  do:  that  the  Marylanders  lost  two  hundred  and 
fifty-nine  men  missing,  many  of  whom  were  killed:  that  it 
was  owing  chiefly  to  their  being  separated,  by  which  means 
the  enemy  got  between  them  and  obliged  them  to  fight  in 
small  parties.  The  Delawares,  being  well  trained,  kept 
and  fought  in  a  compact  body  the  whole  time,  and,  when 
obliged  to  retreat,  kept  their  ranks,  and  entered  the  lines 
in  that  order,  frequently,  while  retreating,  obliged  to  fight 
their  way  through  bodies  of  the  enemy  who  had  before 
made  an  attack  on  our  lines,  where  they  were  repulsed,  and 
were  also  retreating,  and  met  each  other.  The  Delawares, 
in  this  retreat,  lost  four  or  five  men,  one  or  two  killed  and' 
two  or  three  drowned  in  crossing  a.  creek.  This  would 
have  been  all  their  loss;  but,  unfortunately,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  engagement  a  small  party  of  observa 
tion  was  placed  at  some  distance,  with  whom  they  could 
never  again  join,  the  enemy  having  got  between  them, 
though  frequently  attempted.  [The]  greatest  part  of  those 

*  Major  McDonough  was  in  immediate  command  of  the  Delaware 
regiment,  being  senior  officer  present. 

"  The  Assembly  of  the  counties  on  Delaware,  having  recommended 
a  gentleman  to  be  major  of  the  battalion  ordered  to  be  raised  in  that 
county  in  the  room  of  John  Macpherson,  who  fell  before  Quebec  and 
never  received  his  commission,  the  Congress  proceeded  to  the  election, 
and,  the  ballots  being  taken  and  examined,  Thomas  McDonough  was 
elected,  March  2'2d,  1776." — Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  100. 

Major  McDonough  was  a  physician.  He  did  not  long  remain  in  the 
military  service,  but  returned  to  private  life  and  the  practice  of  medi 
cine  until  after  1792,  when  he  was  appointed  an  associate  judge  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  which  office  he  held  until  his  death,  in  1795. 
He  was  the  father  of  Commodore  McDonough,  who,  in  September, 
1814,  captured  the  British  fleet  on  Lake  Champlain  after  a  sanguinary 
battle. — Delaware  Register,  vol.  i,  p.  343. 


176  LIFE   AND    CORBESPONDENCE 

were  lost,  either  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  but  supposed 
chiefly  killed.  Upon  the  whole,  the  Delaware  battalion 
has  now  missing  thirty-one,  including  two  officers,  to  wit, 
Lieutenant  Stewart  and  Lieutenant  Harney.  The  major 
had  a  slight  wound  on  the  knee.  This  is  the  whole  of  the 
damage  they  have  sustained.  Captain  Adams,  of  Kent, 
after  fighting  bravely  a  considerable  time,  was  seized  with 
a  most  violent  colic.  He  was  sent  off  the  ground,  and  a 
soldier  with  him,  to  conduct  him  to  our  lines.  On  his  way 
he  had  to  cross  a  deep  marsh,  in  which,  when  the  battalion 
crossed  [it],  they  found  him  fast  expiring.  They  carried 
him  over  on  boards,  [and]  got  him  in  the  lines,  and  he  is 
.now  well. 

"  Our  old  friend  Billy  Livingston  is  appointed  Governor 
of  the  Jersey [s],  Ogden,  Chief  Justice.  The  other  appoint 
ments  not  yet  come  to  hand. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"  CAESAR    RODXEY. 

"P.S. — You  will   communicate  the    matter   relating  to 
Sullivan's  message  to  Mr.  McKeari. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  foregoing  letters  of  Colonel  Bedford  and  Caesar  Rod 
ney  are  especially  valuable  to  the  citizens  of  Delaware,  for 
they  add  another  leaf  to  the  laurels  won  by  the  gallant 
Delaware  regiment  in  many  a  well-fought  field. 

It  appears  from  these  letters  that  the  Delawares  were 
associated  with  four  hundred  of  Small  wood's  regiment  in 
the  brilliant  attack  upon  Lord  Cornwall!?; 

That  the  Maryland  and  Delaware  regiments  were  kept 
on  the  ground,  drawn  up  for  battle,  four  hours  after  every 
o  her  regiment  had  retreated,  in  sight  of  five  brigades  of 
the  enemy,  and  were  not  ordered  to  retreat  until  nearly 
surrounded;  and 

That  while  Smallwoofl's  regiment  fell  into  an  ambuscade, 
and  lost,  after  engaging  double  their  number,  near  three 
hundred  men,  killed  and  taken  prisoners,  o\ying  chiefly  to 
their  being  separated,  the  Delawares,  being  well  trained, 
kept  and  fought  in  a  compact  body,  even  on  their  retreat, 
during  which,  in  the  face  of  a  superior  force,  they  captured 
a  small  detachment  of  the  enemy,  and  in  that  order,  to  the 
admiration  of  their  countrymen,  entered  the  American  lines. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  177 

"The  Delaware  regiment  was  reckoned  the  most  efficient 
in  the  Continental  army."*  It  went  into  active  service  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  the  contest  with  Great  Britain, 
and  served  through  the  whole  of  it.  Courting  danger 
wherever  it  was  to  be  encountered,  frequently  forming  part 
of  a  victorious  army,  but  oftener  the  companions  of  their 
countrymen  in  the  gloom  of  disaster,  the  Delawares  fought 
at  Brooklyn,  at  Trenton  and  at  Princeton,  at  Brandywine 
and  at  German  town,  at  Guild  ford  and  at  Eutaw,  until  at 
length,  reduced  to  a  handful  of  brave  men,  they  concluded 
their  services  with  the  war  in  the  glorious  termination  of 
the  Southern  campaign. 

The  "  three  lower  counties  on  Delaware"  are  part  of  the 
North  American  continent  discovered  by  John  and  Sebas 
tian  Cabot,  sailing  in  1697  under  a  commission  from  Henry 
VIII.  of  England.  The  Delaware  Bay,  called  by  the  Indians 
"Poutaxat,"  and  the  river,  by  them  named  "Arasapha"  and 
"Lenape  Wehulluck,"  or  "the  rapid  stream,"-}-  were  discov 
ered  and  explored,  how  far  is  uncertain,  in  1610,  by  Henry 
Hudson,  who  was  in  the  service  of  the  Dutch  West  India 
Company,  and  who,  it  has  been  said,  sold  his  right  to  the 
Dutch,  but  at  what  time  they  settled  on  the  Delaware  is 
uncertain;  however,  as  early  as  1623  they  had  a  small  town 
at  Gloucester  Point  and  a  fort  at  Nassau.  The  Swedes  as 
early  as  1631  settled  at  Lewes  (Swaendal),  Christiana,  and 
other  places  on  the  Delaware,  under  purchases  from  the 
Indian  sachems.  The  contest  which  ensued  between  the 
Swedes  and  Dutch  for  the  Delaware  territory  was  termi 
nated  by  the  successful  expedition  of  Governor  Stuyvesant 
from  New  York  in  1655,  to  whom  it  was  surrendered  and 
the  principal  Swedes  expelled.  The  English  under  Sir 
Robert  Carr  conquered  the  Delaware  territory  in  1664.  It 
was  reconquered  by  the  Dutch,  but  only  held  till  1667, 
when,  by  the  treaty  of  Breda,  it  was  restored  to  the  Eng 
lish.  In  1670  the  Swedes,  Dutch,  and  Fins,  few  in  number, 
were  settled  along  the  west  side  of  the  Delaware  from  New 
Castle  (the  chief  town  of  the  Delaware  territory)  to  a  point 
sixty  miles  above  it.J  This  territory  was  granted  by  Charles 

*  Ramsay's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  209. 

f  Watson's  Annals. 

j  Hazard's  Annals,  vol.  i.  p.  381. 


178  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

II.  to  James,  Duke  of  York,  and  by  him,  24th  August,  1682, 
to  William  Perm,  who,  before  he  left  England  to  take  pos 
session  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  "  Territory,"  prepared  "  a 
frame  of  government"  and  "fundamental  laws"  for  both. 
The  Delaware  territory,  7th  day  of  December,  1682,  was 
by  Governor  Penn,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the 
freemen  of  that  territory  and  of  the  Province  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  annexed  thereto,*  the  people  of  both,  with  one 
Assembly,  to  be  governed  by  the  same  laws  and  enjoy  the 
same  privileges,  and  by  the  act  of  settlement-)-  the  first 
charter,  dated  the  25th  day  of  the  2d  month,  1682,  was, 
with  modifications,  accepted.  In  1701,  being  found  not  so 
suitable  as  it  had  been,  in  some  particulars,  to  the  circum 
stances  of  the  inhabitants,  this  charter  was  surrendered  by 
six  parts  of  seven  of  the  freemen  of  the  province  and  terri 
tory,  and  one  better  adapted  to  their  condition  granted, 
October,  1701,  and  accepted  the  same  day.  By  the  second 
article  of  this  charter  it  was  provided  that  there  should  be 
one  Assembly  for  the  three  counties  of  the  province  and  the 
three  counties  of  the  territory,  each  to  choose  four  repre 
sentatives,  and  one  Council,  to  consist  of  eighteen  members, 
three  from  each  of  the  counties.  This  union  of  the  province 
and  territory  lasted  till  the  session  of  their  common  Assem 
bly,  which  terminated  the  28th  day  of  October,  1701. 
During  that  session  two  members  of  Council  brought  into 
the  House  of  Representatives  a  bill  for  the  confirmation  of 
the  laws  passed  at  New  Castle  the  year  preceding,  and  the 
vote  being  put,  October  10th.  whether  this  bill  should  pass 
into  a  law,  the  Delaware  members,  except  two  from  Sussex, 
declared  their  negative  to  this  bill,  having  never  disputed 
the  validity  of  these  laws,  and  arose  and  left  the  House; 
but  the  bill,  notwithstanding  this  secession,  was  enacted. 
They  returned  on  the  15th  of  October,  upon  condition  that 
they  should  enter  their  dissent  to  this  bill,  their  further 
proposed  condition  that  "  nothing  should  be  carried  over 
their  heads  by  outvoting  them"  being  rejected,  and  rightly, 
'•as  impracticable  and  inconsistent  with  the  privileges  of 
Assemblies;"  but  the  confirmation-bill,  before  mentioned, 
being  again  read,  and  it  being  proposed  to  read  the  laws  it 
was  to  confirm  three  times,  the  Delaware  members  departed 

*  Delaware  Laws,  vol.  i.,  Appendix,  pp.  8-10.  f  Ibid,,  p.  11. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  179 

the  House  again.  There  was  immediately  a  conference  of 
the  House  with  the  Governor  to  endeavor  an  accommoda 
tion  with  these  seceders,  and  it  was  successful.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  (the  15th)  they  came  again  into 
the  House,  and  a  letter  was  read  from  the  Governor  to  the 
whole  House,  in  which  he  declared  "  he  expected  their  peace 
and  accommodation  of  one  another,  the  reputation  of  which 
was  something,  but  the  reality  much  more,"  exhorted  them 
"to  yield  in  circumstantials  to  preserve  essentials,"  and  be 
sought  them  "  not  to  make  him  sad,  as  he  was  then  going 
to  leave  them;"  and,  the  Governor  having  assured  the  House 
"  that  he  should  offer  nothing  further  to  the  House,"  the 
Delaware  representatives  sat  down,  but,  steady  in  their  op 
position,  not  till  they  again  declared  their  negative  vote  to 
the  passing  of  the  confirmatory  bill.  After  the  rising  of 
this  General  Assembly  on  the  28th  of  October,  1701,  Penn 
went  to  England,  and  the  representatives  of  the  "Province" 
and  "Territory"  never  after  joined  in  any  acts  of  legislation, 
though  the  deputy-governor  and  Council  often  endeavored 
to  restore  their  union.  The  last  of  these  attempts  was  by 
Governor  Evans,  April,  1704,  upon  the  offer  of  the  Delaware 
representatives,  who  met  in  Philadelphia  on  the  10th  of  that 
month,  expecting  to  unite  in  Assembly  with  the  Pennsyl 
vania  members,  but,  as  they  stated,  "found  themselves 
disappointed  by  the  Pennsylvanians  pretending  a  former 
separation  ;"  notwithstanding,  fearing  that  disunion  might 
prejudice  the  peace  and  interest  of  the  proprietary  and  gov 
ernment,  they  persisted  in  offering  to  join,  provided  there 
should  be  four  representatives  for  each  of  the  six  counties, 
but  the  Pennsylvanians  would  not  yield,  for  "the  Dela- 
wareans  had  alleged  yesterday  that  they  could  not  act 
together,  because  they  were  called  together  by  writ,  the 
Pennsylvanians  by  charter,  and  because  the  separation  could 
not  be  called  '  pretended,'  seeing  it  had  been  forced  upon 
them  by  the  Delaware  members  refusing  to  act  with  them 
on  several  occasions."  So,  being  settled  in  a  separate  As 
sembly,  they  declined  the  proposed  union,  and  coolly  told 
them,  in  conclusion,  that  "they  too  may  form  themselves 
into  a  separate  Assembly,  and  by  mutual  candor  and  good 
neighborhood  the  evils  feared  from  separation,  they  hoped, 
might  be  prevented."  Penn,  though  believing  that  the 
legislative  union  of  his  province  and  territory  would  be  for 


ISO  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

the  advantage  of  both,  yet,  after  this  untoward  occurrence, 
notwithstanding  the  closure  and  test  of  the  charter  of 
1701,  added  thereto  an  article  by  which  he  granted  them 
the  privilege  of  establishing,  within  three  years,  distinct 
Assemblies.  It  is  stated  in  the  Appendix  to  the  Laws  of 
Delaware,  volume  i.  p.  49,  from  which  I  have  obtained  the 
foregoing  facts  in  relation  to  the  union  and  separation  of 
the  "Province  of  Pennsylvania"  and  the  "Delaware  Terri 
tory,"  that  these  facts  were  extracted  from  a  book  entitled 
"Votes  and  Proceedings  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  Province  of  Pennsylvania,  beginning  4th  December, 
1682,  vol.  i.,  in  2  parts,"  printed  in  Philadelphia  by  Ben 
jamin  Franklin  and  D.  Hall,  1752,  there  being  no  minute 
of  legislative  proceedings  of  such  an  early  period  extant  in 
the  State  of  Delaware,  the  traditional  account  being  that 
all  such  minutes  preceding  the  year  1722  were  destroyed 
by  fire  in  the  burning  of  Colonel  John  French's  house  in 
•New  Castle,  where  they  were  reposited. 

The  "Territory"  seems  during  the  ''union"  to  have  en 
joyed  due  consideration,  and  there  was  a  disposition  in  the 
province  to  conciliate  it,  the  joint  Assembly  having  met  as 
often  in  New  Castle  as  in  Philadelphia.  I  find  no  reason 
stated  for  "  the  confirmatory  bill,"  the  introduction  of  which 
disturbed  the  harmony  of  the  joint  Assembly,  and  the  laws  of 
1700,  having  been  enacted  by  the  Proprietary  and  Governor, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  freemen  of  the  province 
and  territory,  in  conformity  with  the  charter,*  seem  to  me 
not  to  have  needed  it,  unless  the  surrender  of  the  charter 
to  be  immediately  restored  with  modifications  made  it  neces 
sary,  which  cannot,  I  believe,  be  shown.  The  blame  of 
originating  this  difficulty,  from  what  appears,  was  with  the 
"Province."  Secession,  it  is  true,  was  a  strong  measure, 
but  the  territorial  members  did  not  persist  in  it,  and  en 
deavored  afterwards  in  vain  to  re-establish  the  legislative 
union.  Among  them  were  William  Rodney,  ancestor  of 
Caesar  Rodney,  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  Richard  Hallo  well,  the  generous  donor  of  a  beautiful 


*  Five  of  these  laws  are  in  the  Appendix  to  vol.  i.  Delaware  Laws, 
pp.  26-37,  viz.:  the  Acts  " for  ascertaining  descents,"  "  for  confirming 
devises  of  lands  and  nuncupative  wills,"  "for  empowering-  administra 
tors  to  sell  lands  to  pay  debts,"  "  for  confirming  freeholders  in  their 
lands,"  and  "for  taking  land  in  execution." 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  181 

farm  close  to  New  Castle,  for  the  use  of  the  rector  for  the  time 
being  of  the  Episcopal  church  there,  which  has  been  for  almost 
a  century  and  a  half  held  and  enjoyed  by  the  ministers  of 
that  church.  James  Logan,  the  friend  of  Penn,  prominent 
in  the  early  history  of  Pennsylvania,  stated  in  1708  "that 
New  Castle  did  not  prosper,  as  the  inhabitants  there  wished, 
as  the  rivals  of  Philadelphia,  because  of  their  disorderly 
way  of  living,  and  the  unhealthiness  of  the  place,  and  that 
to  make  New  Castle  flourish  they  fell  upon  the  expedient 
to  separate  the  lower  counties  from  the  province  and  to 
make  it  a  seat  of  government;  but,  notwithstanding,  the  in 
habitants  below  have  still  preferred  to  bring  their  trade  to 
Philadelphia."  He  adds,  "  Much  of  this  scheme  Avas  projected 
and  conducted  by  Jasper  Yeates  and  J.  Coutts."*  Mr. 
Logan  was  a  citizen  of  the  "  Province,"  one  of  the  parties 
in  this  dispute,  and  may  not  have  been  exempt  from  the 
feelings  and  prejudices  which  unfitted  a  man  to  judge  im 
partially  in  this  matter;  and  in  nothing  do  men  oftener 
mistake  than  in  imputing  motives.  William  Penn  stated 
in  1704  "that  the  territory  sought  the  union  with  the 
province,  and  he  owes  to  the  foul  practices  of  Quarry  the 
late  defection  of  the  people  there. "*(* 

The  dissolution  of  this  legislative  union  was  fortunate,  I 
think,  for  the  "Territory."  In  1701  the  representatives 
of  the  "  three  lower  counties  on  Delaware"  were  equal  to 
those  of  the  "Province;"  but  this  equality  could  not  con 
tinue.  Out  of  the  vast  territory  over  which  the  growing 
population  of  Pennsylvania  would  spread,  new  counties 
must  inevitably  be  continually  added  to  her  original 
three  counties  ;J  but  the  little  "Territory"  could  hope 
for  no  such  addition.  In  no  long  time  her  representatives 
would  be  in  a  minority  of  the  joint  Assembly,  and,  in  con- 

*  Edmundson,  who  was  in  New  Castle,  then  called  "  Delaware 
Town,"  in  1672,  described  its  Finnish  and  Dutch  inhabitants  as  very 
intemperate. —  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadelphia,  p.  46. 

f  "Quarry  was  Judge  of  Admiralty,  and  he,  with  David  Lloyd, 
Attorney-General,  and  John  Moore,  advocate,  were  the  ringleaders  of 
the  opposition  to  the  Pennsylvania  government.  They  were  unwilling 
to  provide  an  income  for  Ponn  and  his  officers,  created  embarrassments 
in  the  courts  as  to  oaths  and  affirmations,  and  desired  to  change  the 
proprietary  into  a  royal  government." — Watson's  Annah,  pp.  37,  39. 

J  In  1776  there  were  twelve  counties  in  Pennsylvania. — Paints 
Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  142. 


182  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

flicts  of  interest,  at  the  mercy  of  the  province;  and  if  in  1704 
she  had  consented  to  the  proposed  union,  the  province 
might  afterwards  have  established  an  influence  potent 
enough  to  defeat  any  effort  to  dissolve  it. 

The  charter  of  1702  was,  unaltered,  the  fundamental 
law  of  the  "  three  lower  counties  on  Delaware"  during  the 
residue  of  their  colonial  existence. 

The  Continental  Congress,  because  the  colonists  were 
declared  out  of  the  royal  protection,  a  deaf  ear  turned  to 
their  prayers  for  redress  of  grievances,  and  the  military 
power  of  Great  Britain,  with  her  German  auxiliaries,  was 
to  be  exerted  against  them,  recommended,  May  15th,  1776, 
that  all  authority  emanating  from  the  crown  of  Great  Brit 
ain  should  be  abrogated,  and  that  the  people  of  the  United 
States  should  establish  such  governments  as  they  might 
deem  best  for  their  security  and  felicity.  The  Declaration 
of  Independence  soon  followed,  and  made  the  measure  thus 
recommended  still  more  necessary,  and  constitutions  were 
adopted  by  all  the  colonies  except  Rhode  Island  and  Con 
necticut,  where  no  change  was  necessary,  the  legislature 
and  executive  being  both  under  their  charters  eligible  by 
the  people. 

The  House  of  Assembly  of  the  "  three  lower  counties 
on  Delaware"  in  July,  1776,  recommended  their  constitu 
ents  to  choose  ten  deputies  for  each  of  these  counties,  to 
meet  in  convention  and  ordain  and  declare  the  future  form 
of  government  for  the  State  of  Delaware.*  These  deputies 
were  elected  August  the  19th,  and  met  in  New  Castle, 
August  27th,  and  on  the  29th  proceeded  to  the  choice  of  a 
President,  when  George  Read  was  unanimously  elected. 
On  the  2d  of  September  a  committee,  of  which  Mr.  Read 
was  chairman,  was  appointed  to  prepare  a  "  Declaration  of 
Rights,"  which  on  the  llth  was  reported,  debated,  amended, 
and  adopted.  On  the  7th  the  Convention  named  a  com 
mittee,  of  which  Mr.  Read  was  also  chairman,  to  frame  a 
constitution.  This  committee  reported  on  the  13th.  Their 
report  was  read  a  second  time  on  the  15th,  and,  after  some 
debate,  recommitted.  They  reported  again  on  the  16th, 
and  the  proposed  system  of  government  was  debated  from 
day  to  day  till  the  20th,  when,  with  some  amendments,  it 

*  See  jiost,  Appendix. 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  183 

was  agreed  to.  The  yeas  and  nays  appear  but  once  upon 
the  Journal  (pp.  25,  26),  and  were  called  upon  the  question 
of  expunging  the  two  last  parts  of  the  29th  Article,  which 
exclude  the  clergy,  while  exercising  their  functions,  from 
holding  any  civil  office  in  the  State.  The  ayes,  among  them 
McKean  and  Van  Dyke,  were  but  six,  so  that  there  was 
an  overwhelming  majority  against  the  proposition.  Mr. 
Read's  name  does  not  appear  in  the  list  of  votes,  he  not 
voting,  I  suppose,  because  there  was  no  tie. 

By  this  Constitution  the  Legislature  consists  of  two  bodies, 
— the  House  of  Assembly,  of  twenty-one  members,  seven 
for  each  county,  freeholders,  eligible  annually  by  the  free 
holders  of  these  counties;  and  the  Council,  of  nine  members, 
freeholders  of  the  age  of  upwards  of  twenty-five  years,  to 
be  chosen  in  like  manner,  to  serve  for  three  years,  but  one 
to  go  out  every  year,  and  a  successor  to  be  elected  with  all 
the  powers  necessary  to  the  Legislature  of  an  independent 
state.  The  executive  power  was  vested  in  a  President,  to 
be  chosen  by  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  Legislature, 
and  to  continue  in  office  three  years  He  was  empowered 
to  draw  money  appropriated  by  the  Legislature,  to  lay  em 
bargoes,  but  not  longer  than  for  thirty  days  in  the  recess  of 
the  Legislature;  with  the  assent  of  the  Privy  Council,  em 
body  and  command  in  chief  the  militia,  grant  reprieves  and 
pardons,  and  exercise  all  other  powers  of  executive  govern 
ment,  limited  and  restrained  by  the  Constitution.  The 
Privy  Council  to  be  chosen,  by  joint  ballot  of  the  Assembly 
and  Council,  two  by  each.  The  delegates  to  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  to  be  annually  chosen  by  joint  ballot  of  the 
Assembly  and  Council.  The  judicial  authority  was  vested 
in  a  Supreme  Court  for  the  State  of  three  Justices,  one  of 
whom  to  be  Chief  Justice,  and  a  Judge  of  Admiralty,  and 
four  Justices  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  Orphans' 
Court  (one  of  whom  to  be  Chief  Justice)  for  each  county, 
to  be  chosen  on  joint  ballot  by  the  President  and  General 
Assembly,  and  continue  in  office  during  good  behavior,  an 
adequate  and  fixed  and  moderate  salary  being  settled  on 
them  during  their  continuance  in  office.  The  Secretary  of 
State,  Attorney-General,  Registers  in  Chancery,  and  clerks 
of  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  Orphans'  Courts,  and  Clerks  of 
the  Peace,  to  be  appointed  by  the  President  and  Privy 
Council  for  five  years,  if  they  should  so  long  behave  well. 


184  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Twenty-four  Justices  of  the  Peace  to  be  nominated  by  the 
Legislature  for  each  county,  from  which  the  President,  with 
the  approbation  of  his  Privy  Council ,  was  to  select  twelve 
for  each  county,  to  be  commissioned  for  seven  years,  if  so 
long  behaving  well.  The  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme 
Court  to  appoint  the  clerks  thereof,  and  the  Justices  of  the 
Courts  of  Common  Pleas  the  Eecorders  of  Deeds  for  five 
years.  Two  Sheriffs  and  a  Coroner  to  be  chosen  annually 
for  each  county  by  the  people,  of  whom  the  President  and 
Privy  Council  to  commission  one.  The  Assembly  to  ap 
point  all  general  and  field  officers,  and  all  other  officers 
of  the  army  or  navy  of  the  State,  by  joint  ballot,  and  the 
President  to  appoint,  during  pleasure,  all  necessary  civil 
officers  not  mentioned  in  the  Constitution  till  the  Legislature 
otherwise  direct.  The  Court  of  Appeals  to  consist  of  seven 
persons,  the  President  for  the  time  being,  and  three  to  be 
appointed  by  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  three  by  the 
Council,  so  long  as  they  behave  themselves  well.  The 
Judges,  Privy  Councillors,  Secretary,  Trustee  of  the  Loan 
Office,  clerks  of  the  Common  Pleas  courts,  and  army  or 
navy  contractors,  ineligible  to  the  Legislature,  and  seats  of 
members  thereof  to  be  vacated  by  acceptance  of  any  office 
under  the  Constitution,  except  that  of  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
All  officers  to  swear  allegiance  and  obedience  to  the  State 
of  Delaware,  and  to  faithfully  execute  their  offices,  and  to 
make  and  subscribe  a  declaration,  in  writing,  of  their  faith 
in  the  Trinity,  and  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Scrip 
tures.  The  President  and  oth'er  officers  impeachable  by 
the  House  of  Assembly  before  the  Legislative  Council  for 
misbehavior,  and  punishable  by  removal  from,  or  disqualifi 
cation  to  hold,  office,  or  subjected  to  such  penalties  as  law 
may  direct,  and  all  officers  removable  upon  address  of  the 
Assembly.  The  English  common  and  statute  law  declared 
to  be  in  force,  so  far  as  adopted,  and  not  repugnant  to  the 
Constitution  or  Bill  of  Rights  until  altered  by  the  Legisla 
ture.  No  person  in  future  imported  from  Africa  ought  to  be 
held  in  slavery,  and  no  Indian,  negro,  or  mulatto  slave  ought 
to  be  brought  into  Delaware  for  sale,  from  any  part  of  the 
world,  under  any  pretence.  Freedom  of  elections  is  secured, 
religious  establishments  prohibited,  and  clergymen,  while 
exercising  their  functions,  excluded  from  office;  and  rash 
alterations  of  the  Constitution  are  guarded  against  by 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  185 

making  it  unalterable  except  by  the  consent  of  five  parts 
in  ten  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  seven  of  the  council. 

The  convention  which  adopted  this  Constitution  sat 
twenty-six  days.  Its  members  were  farmers  and  mer 
chants,  with  a  few  lawyers,  and  their  work  has  the  merits 
and  defects  of  the  constitutions  framed  at  the  same  time 
by  their  sister  colonies,  all  of  which  have  been  altered,  not 
always  for  the  better.  That  men  taken  from  the  com 
mon  walks  of  life  should  so  soon,  so  forcibly,  and  harmo 
niously  reconstruct  the  fundamental  laws  of  communities, 
and  admirably  suit  them  to  secure  rights  and  promote  hap 
piness,  is  a  marvel  only  to  those  ignorant  of  American 
character,  history,  and  institutions.  They  were  already  in 
the  enjoyment  of  all  the  great  principles  of  free  govern 
ment,  and  had  little  more  to  do  than  to  provide  a  few  new 
agencies  for  administering  it,  or  new  names  for  existent 
ones,  and  some  additional  securities  against  the  abuse  of 
power.* 

This  convention,  "elected  to  ordain  and  declare  the  future 
form  of  government  for  the  State  of  Delaware,"  did  much 
besides  exercising  legislative,  executive,  and  even  judicial 
functions,  without  hesitation  and  without  question,  then 
or  subsequently.  Public  exigencies  compelled,  and  therefore 
justified,  tins  irregularity.  The  convention  ordered  the 
raising,  equipping,  and  marching  of  the  quotas  of  militia 

*  How  unlike  the  members  of  the  conventions  and  assemblies  of  the 
French  Revolution,  whose  extravagances  have  excited,  as  they  will 
excite,  the  mirth,  but  oftener  the  horror  or  indignation  of  all  who  have 
read,  and  may  read,  their  history, — the  page  of  it,  for  example,  which 
chronicles  the  work  of  one  memorable  day,  August  the  4th,  1789,  when 
there  was  a  grand  renunciation  of  privileges  of  nobles,  clergy,  corpora 
tions,  monopolists,  and  even  of  provinces !  I  wonder  these  mercurial 
Frenchmen,  so  fond  of  melodrama,  did  not  get  up  a  scenic  representa 
tion  of  these  renunciations,  each  figured  by  an  appropriate  emblem  of 
costly  material  and  beautiful  or  magnificent  design,  and  when  heaped 
upon  the  altar,  the  flamen  of  liberty,  in  classic  costume,  applying  his 
torch  to  the  patriotic  offering.  This  4th  of  August,  first  distinguished 
as  "the  day  of  sacrifices,"  is  now  known  as  ''the  day  of  dupes."  The 
Constitution  of  1791,  a  democracy  having  the  king  with  little  power 
at  its  head,  was  overthrown  by  the  united  force  of  the  Girondists  and 
Jacobins,  and  the  well-meaning  but  visionary  Girondists  were  soon 
swept  away  by  the  terrible  energy  of  the  Jacobins,  who  maintained 
their  hideous  despotism  by  the  bayonet  and  the  guillotine,  and  the 
reign  of  terror  has  been  succeeded  by  various  governments,  the  present 
probably  no  more  stable  than  its  predecessors. 

13 


186  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

required  from  the  State  by  Congress,  appointing,  promoting, 
and  commissioning  officers,  and  settling  their  accounts,  and 
borrowing  money.  (Journal,  passim.)  They  (Journal,  pp. 
31,  32)  order  the  finishing  of  a  powder-magazine  near  Wil 
mington,  and  put  it  in  charge  of  a  fort-major  and  troops 
under  him,  and  direct  these  troops  to  be  raised.  They 
(Journal,  pp.  34,  35)  frame  and  adopt  instructions  to  re 
cruiting-officers,  and  (p.  36)  authorize  a  contract  for  making 
gunlocks.  By  the  third  of  the  Rules  of  Order  (Journal, 
p.  6)  members  are  forbidden  to  go  out  of  the  convention, 
after  adjournment,  before  the  President,  under  penalty  of  a 
check;  or  to  leave  it,  when  in  session,  longer  than  half  an 
hour,  under  the  penalty  of  five  shillings.  Members  are 
required  (Journal,  p.  8)  to  make  and  subscribe  the  declara 
tion  of  their  faith  in  God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and 
God  the  Holy  Ghost,  one  God  blessed  for  evermore;  and  on 
motion  of  Mr.  McKean  (Journal,  p.  12),  as  soon  as  he  took 
his  seat,  after  a  short  absence,  the  words,  "I  acknowledge 
the  Holy  Scriptures  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  to  be 
given  by  divine  inspiration,"  were  unanimously  added. 
They  (Journal,  pp.  21,  22),  on  petition  of  a  tanner,  dis 
charge  his  apprentice,  who  had  enlisted  in  Captain  Dunn's 
company,  of  Colonel  Patterson's  battalion.  Sat  (p.  23)  on 
Sunday,  and  order  (p.  23)  the  signing  of  bills  of  credit,  and 
restore  (pp.  28,  29)  forty  persons  who  had  risen  in  insur 
rection  in  Sussex  County,  in  the  month  of  June,  1776,  to 
the  favor  of  their  country,  upon  profession  of  their  peni 
tence,  and  promise  of  future  obedience  to  the  Assembly  of 
Delaware  and  the  Continental  Congress. 

Among  Mr.  Read's  papers  I  find  a  document  in  his  hand 
writing,  indorsed  ''Original  Draft  of  the  System  of  Gov 
ernment  of  the  Delaware  State,  with  Amendments,"  which 
makes  it  certain  that  he  framed  this  first  Constitution  of 
Delaware.*  These  amendments  are  four  in  number,^  one 

*  In  the  "Life  of  Thomas  McKean,"  page  19,  volume  iv.  of  the 
"Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,"  is  this 
paragraph : 

"After  the  'flying  camp'  was  completed,  the  associators  were  dis- 


f  In  a  different  handwriting,  probably  that  of  the  Secretary  of  the 
Convention,  who  might  thus  have  easily  furnished  Mr.  Read  with  a 
copy  of  the  Constitution  adopted. 


OF   GEORGE   EEAD.  187 

of  them  being  the  paragraph  of  Article  22,  requiring  all 
officers,  before  entering  on  the  execution  of  their  offices,  to 
make  and  subscribe  a  declaration  of  their  faith  in  the  doc 
trines  of  the  trinity  in  unity,  and  the  divine  inspiration  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures.*  This  constitution  remained  in  force 

charged,  and  Mr.  McKean  returned  to  Philadelphia,  when  he  resumed 
his  seat  in  Congress,  and  signed  the  Declaration  of  Independence  on 
parchment.  Finding  that  he  had  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Con 
vention  for  forming  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Delaware,  he  in  two 
days  departed  for  Dover,  which  he  reached  in  one  day.  Immediately 
on  his  arrival,  after  a  fatiguing  ride,  a  committee  of  gentlemen  waited 
on  him,  and  requested  that  he  would  prepare  a  constitution  for  the 
future  government  of  the  State.  To  this  he  consented.  He  retired  to  his 
room  in  the  tavern,  sat  up  all  the  night,  and  having  prepared  it  without 
book,  or  any  assistance  whatever,  presented  it,  at  ten  o'clock  the  next 
morning,  to  the  House,  when  it  was  unanimously  adopted." 

This  anecdote  hardly  needs  formal  refutation,  its  utter  improbability 
is  so  patent.  Mr.  McKean,  after  a  journey  of  nearly  eighty  miles, 
arrives  at  Dover,  is  solicited  by  a  committee  to  prepare  a  constitution 
for  Delaware,  sets  up  all  night,  without  aid  from  books  or  men  frames 
it,  and  he,  not  the  committee,  presents  it  next  morning  to  the  House, 
when,  that  is  the  same  morning,  it  was  unanimously  adopted,  with  a 
precipitancy  unusual  even  in  passing  an  ordinary  Act  of  Assembly.  He 
must  have  large  credulity  indeed  who  can  believe  that  a  body  of  men, 
selected  for  the  grave  trust  of  framing  a  fundamental  law  for  a  com 
munity,  could  thus  stultify  themselves. 

In  this  fine  specimen  of  glorification,  ascribing  even  greater  facility  in 
constitution-making  to  Mr.  McKean  than  that  of  Syeyes,  who  had  his 
pigeon-holes  always  full  of  constitutions,  there  is  not  a  word  of  truth, 
except  that  there" was  a  convention  which  framed  a  constitution  for 
Delaware  in  1776,  and  he  was  a  member  of  it.  As  has  been  already 
stated,  this  convention  met,  not  at  Dover,  but  New  Castle.  Messrs. 
Read  and  McKean  were  members  of  it;  Mr.  Read  was  unanimously 
elected  its  President ;  on  the  7th  September  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  frame  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Delaware,  of  which  both  were 
members,  and  Mr.  Read  was  chairman  ;  this  committee  reported  a 
"Frame  of  Government"  on  the  13th,  which  was  recommitted  on  the 
14th,  again  reported  on  the  18th,  and  having  been  debated  and  amended 
until  the  20th,  was  then  approved. 

*  Men  associate  for  their  common  good,  therefore,  unless  inhibited  by 
constitutions,  legislatures  may  enact  any  laws  necessary  in  their  judg 
ment  to  secure  it.  Religion,  in  se,  is  no  more  excluded  from  their 
province  than  any  other  subject,  but  it  seems  to  be  especially  within  it, 
as  its  influence  upon  men's  temporal  affairs  is  great.  On  the  question, 
"Is  our  voluntary  system  better  than  an  established  church?"  much 
may  be  urged  on  both  sides  of  it,  and  "  ad  hue  sub  judice  lis  est,"  How 
ever  that  the  evils  of  the  union  of  Church  and  State  outweigh  its 
benefits  may  be  plausibly,  at  least,  argued  from  the  present  state  of  the 
Church  of  England — her  bishops  nominated  by  time  serving  statesmen, 


188  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

till  1792,  when  a  new  one  was  enacted  and  continued  till 
1831,  at  which  time  the  present  constitution  of  the  State 
of  Delaware  was  adopted.  The  amendments  to  this  consti 
tution,  proposed  to  the  people  of  Delaware  in  1853,  were 
rejected  by  a  very  large  majority.  Of  the  constitutions 
adopted  in  1776  by  Delaware  and  her  sister  colonies  it  may 
be  said 

"  Facies  non  omnibus  una, 
Nee  diversa  tamen  ;  qualem  decet  esse  sororum." 

The  greatest  defect  of  this,  the  first  constitution  of  Dela 
ware,  is  the  provision  of  a  cumbersome  judiciary,  fourteen 
judges  for  a  State  of  three  counties  and  thirty-seven  thou 
sand*  inhabitants.  They  were  lessened  by  the  constitution 
of  1792,  and  reduced  by  that  of  1831  to  four  common  law 
judges  and  a  chancellor,  and  the  population  of  Delaware 
has,  I  believe,  more  than  doubled  since  1776.  Another 
defect,  common  to  the  constitutions  of  that  period,  except 
those  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey ,~j*  is  the  provision  of  a 
"  Privy  Council,"  controlling  in  most  cases  the  executive 
power,  and  thus  impairing  its  unity,  clogging  its  action,  and 
sometimes  covering  its  faults.  A  court  of  chancery  was 
not  established  by  this  constitution,  nor  by  those  of  most  of 
the  other  colonies,  but  chancery-powers  were  vested  in  the 
common  law  courts.  This  I  think  a  defect. J 

her  convocation  striving,  with  what  success  remains  to  be  seen,  to  re 
cover  the  power  of  legislating  for  her,  wrongfully  withheld,  and  her 
ritual  and  doctrinal  controversies  judged  by  laymen,  it  may  be,  not  of 
her  communion.  But  I  do  not  doubt  that  the  right  conclusion  as  to 
religious  tests  has  been  reached  in  the  United  States,  because  they 
would,  if  adopted,  be  oftener  employed  to  maintain  error  than  truth, 
and  because  education  and  freedom  of  speech  and  of  the  press  are  better 
guarantees  for  its  supremacy  than  tests.  <% 

*  Compendium  of  U.  S.  Census,  I860,  p.  39.  As  there  was  no  gen 
eral  enumeration  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  before  1790,  this 
estimate  is  conjectural,  but  may  be  accepted  as  at  least  approximating 
truth. 

|  Federalist,  No.  70. 

J  The  expense  of  this  convention  was  three  hundred  and  fifty-two 
pounds,  fourteen  shillings,  and  ninepence,  which,  to  the  amount  of  loans 
to  the  State  in  his  hands,  the  President  of  the  convention  was  directed 
to  pay. 

I  find  among  Mr.  "Read's  papers  the  account  of  William  Anderson  for 
the  boarding,  etc.  of  the  New  Castle  County  members  of  the  conven 
tion,  with  his  receipt  for  its  amount  from  John  Jones.  There  are 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  189 

Caesar  Rodney  writes  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  September  7th,  1776. 

"SiR, — Since  I  wrote  last,  three  letters  directed  to  you 
have  come  to  my  hands.  I  imagine  they  are  from  New 
York,  and  have  sent  them,  with  this,  by  the  New  Castle 
stage. 

"  In  my  last  letter  to  you  I  gave  you  the  substance  of 
Sullivan's  message  and  what  I  then  thought  would  be  the 
determination  of  Congress  thereon;  however,  the  matter, 
after  three  days'  debate,  has  in  some  measure  received  a 
different  determination.  The  Congress  have  refused  send 
ing  any  of  their  members  to  confer,  as  private  gentlemen ; 
but  with  a  view  to  satisfy  some  disturbed  minds  out  of 
doors  rather  than  expectation  of  its  bringing  about  peace, 
they  have  appointed  a  committee  of  Congress  to  repair  to 
New  York,  with  powers  to  confer  with  Lord  Howe,  to  know 
the  extent  of  his  powers  and  the  terms  he  shall  propose. 
General  Sullivan  was  furnished  with  a  copy  of  this  resolu 
tion,  certified,  and  returned  to  Lord  Howe  yesterday.  You 
will  see  by  this  that  if  Lord  Howe  receives  the  committee 
thus  sent  he  acknowledges  the  Congress,  and  of  course  the 
independence  of  the  States,  which  I  am  convinced  he  will 
not  do.  Yet  it  may  tend  to  convince  the  people  at  large 
that  we  are  desirous  of  peace  whenever  it  can  be  had  upon 
those  principles. 

"There  is  no  material  change  in  affairs  at  New  York, 
except  that  a  great  part  of  our  army  are  gone  up  to  King's 
Bridge,  among  others  the  Delaware  battalion,  and  that  Cap 
tain  Wallace  is  gone  up  the  East  River  with  his  ship.  She 
was  fired  on  by  the  fort,  but  not  much,  if  any,  hurt.  She 
proceeded  up  till  she  got  to  a  place  called  Black  well's  Island, 

charges  every  day  in  this  account  for  wine-punch  and  toddy,  and  a 
large  one  for  slings  and  morning-bitters  at  sundry  times,  and  at  the 
bottom  of  the  account  of  the  receipt  of  John  Silsbee,  barber,  for  thirty- 
nine  shillings. 

I  was  told  by  an  aged  lady,  who  died  a  few  years  ago,  that  when  a 
girl  she  heard  read  a  letter,  in  rhyme,  from  Francis  Hopkinson,  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  author  of  the  "  Battle  of  the 
Kegs,"  in  which  he  humorously  describes  citizens  of  the  village,  among 
them 

"Little  John  SiUbee,  who  bobbins  about, 
And  takes  the  best  man  in  the  town  bv  the  snout." 


190  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  anchored.   Our  people  then,  with  two  twelve-pounders, 
obliged  her  to  slip  her  cable  and  get  behind  the  island. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"&ESAR  RODNEY. 

"P.S. — How  goes  on  your  Convention  ? 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

On  the  13th  of  September  General  Rodney  again  writes 
to  Mr.  Read: 

"PHILADELPHIA,  September  13th,  ITT 6. 

"DEAR  SIR, — The  whole  of  your  time  must  certainly  be 
engaged  in  the  affairs  of  the  Convention  or  I  should  have 
heard  from  you  more  frequently.  I  have  wrote  you  three 
letters  since  you  went  to  New  Castle,  but  whether  you  have 
received  more  than  one  of  them  I  cannot  say.  However, 
this  letter  is  a  proof  I  am  not  discouraged  as  yet. 

"The  people  here  have  been  for  several  days  fully  em 
ployed  in  forming  conjectures  with  respect  to  the  conference 
between  the  commissioners  of  Congress  and  Lord  Howe. 
They  have  been  various:  some,  Lord  Howe  has  full  powers, 
and  if  we  have  not  peace  it  is  the  fault  of  Congress;  others, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  they  will  finally  settle  matters,  and 
the  army  be  disbanded ;  others  again  are  cursed  if  they 
believe  he  has  any  powers  at  all.  However,  this  business 
is  put  an  end  to  by  the  return  of  the  committee,  who  report 
that  having  sent  a  letter  to  Lord  Howe,  by  express,  to  ac 
quaint  him  of  their  coming,  they  proceeded  to  Arnboy, 
where  they  arrived  on  Tuesday  evening,  and  there  the 
same  evening  received  a  letter  from  Lord  Howe  in  answer 
to  theirs,  letting  them  know  that  he  would  meet  them,  on 
Wednesday,  at  a  house  on  Staten  Island,  opposite  Amboy, 
that  his  lordship  the  next  day  sent  his  boat  for  them, 
with  a  flag,  and  met  them  himself  at  the  water-side,  and 
in  a  very  polite  manner  conducted  them  up  to  the  house, 
where  he  had  a  dinner  and  plenty  of  good  wine  for  them, 
and  that  after  dinner  they  had  a  conference,  which,  with 
the  time  they  were  dining,  was  about  three  hours.  Upon 
the  whole,  it  seems  his  lordship  has  no  power  to  make  a 
peace,  or  even  to  order  a  cessation  of  arms;  that  he  had  a 
power  to  confer  with  any  person  or  persons  whatsoever  to 
hear  what  they  had  to  offer,  and  report  to  his  Majesty,  but 
that  previous  to  anything  else  we  must  return  to  and  ac- 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  191 

knowledge  obedience  to  his  Majesty.  Tbis  being  done,  be 
did  not  doubt,  on  his  representing  matters  borne,  but  that 
the  several  acts  of  Parliament  and  instructions  might  and 
would  be  revised  and  many  of  our  grievances  removed. 
The  whole  proceedings  of  the  committee,  Sullivan's  mes 
sage,  and  everything  relating  to  it,  will  be  published  on 
Monday  or  Tuesday. 

"  One  Mr.  Duff,  a  young  man,  called  on  me  for  a  commis 
sion  as  a  doctor's  assistant  in  our  battalion  of  the  '  tlying 
camp.'  Should  be  glad  you  would  let  me  know  immediately 
when  and  how  he  was  appointed,  and  whether  he  ought  to 
have  a  commission.  They  are  to  march  on  Tuesday,  if  pos 
sible,  and  if  there  be  propriety  in  giving  him  a  commission 
I  could  wish  he  had  it,  as  it  would  be  of  great  service  in 
case  of  his  being  a  prisoner. 

"  We  have  letters  dated  in  July  last,  from  our  Connecticut 
friend*  in  Paris.  There's  a  change  of  ministry  in  France; 
and  he  is  the  greatest  man  in  the  world  except  Lord  North, 
and  has  as  great  a  levee  as  he  has.  This  is  a  secret. 

"I  don't  recollect  anything  else  worth  communicating 
just  now,  except  that  I  am,  sir, 

"Your  humble  servant, 

"CLESAR  RODNEY. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Rodney  makes  known  to  Messrs.  Read  and  McKean 
the  occupation  of  the  city  of  New  York  by  General  Howe, 
and  the  bad  behavior  of  the  American  troops  posted  to 
defend  it,  in  a  letter  dated 

"PHILADELPHIA,  September  18th,  1776. 

"GENTLEMEN, — I  have  sent  my  servant  to  you  with  the 
following  disagreeable  intelligence.  By  letters  from  Gen 
eral  Washington  to  Congress  we  are  informed  that  General 
Howe,  with  about  six  or  seven  thousand  of  his  troops,  took 
possession  of  New  York  on  Sunday  last.  We  are  not  so 
much  astonished  that  he  should  get  possession  of  New  York 
(because  we  have  expected  it  for  some  time  past)  as  at  the 
scandalous  behavior  of  our  troops  that  were  placed  to  defend 
the  post  where  the  enemy  landed,  who  ran  away  from  their 

*  Silas  Deane. 


192  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

lines  and  breastworks  in  a  most  dastardly  manner,  when  not 
more  than  sixty  [men]  were  landed  to  oppose  them.  You 
must  know  that  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  have  been  for 
[some]  time  past  on  the  Long  Island  side,  opposite  Harlem 
Creek  or  River,  and  had  erected  several  batteries  there  that 
played  on  ours  at  Horn's  Hook,  on  the  New  York  land  side 
of  the  Harlem.  A  part  of  the  main  body  of  the  enemy 
had  taken  possession  of  Montresor's  Island,  situate  at  the 
mouth  of  Harlem,  and  [which]  is  divided  from  Morrisania 
on  the  east  side  of  Harlem  and  Harlem  Point,  on  the  west 
side  by  a  water  not  so  wide  as  Schuylkili  Ferry.  At  one 
or  both  these  places  it  was  expected  they  would  attempt  a 
landing.  General  Washington,  therefore,  fixed  his  head 
quarters  on  the  Heights  of  Harlem,  as  they  are  called,  on 
the  York  Island  side  of  the  creek,  and  posted  General 
Mifflin,  with  his  brigade — consisting  of  Shee's,  Macgaw's, 
Haslet's,  and  some  other  battalions — on  the  Heights  of 
Morrisania,  He  had  also  placed  troops  on  the  heights  near 
King's  Bridge  to  support  either  the  main  army  or  Mifilin's 
detachment,  as  the  case  might  require.  The  general,  find 
ing  that  two  forty-gun  ships,  two  frigates,  and  one  twenty, 
had  come  up  the  East  River  and  anchored  opposite  Turtle 
Bay  (which  is  four  miles  above  the  city,  and  three  miles 
or  thereabouts  below  head-quarters),  placed  Brigadier-Gen 
eral  Parsons,  with  his  brigade  and  some  Connecticut  militia 
(in  the  whole  near  three  thousand),  there  to  defend  that  post, 
at  least  till  they  could  be  supported  by  the  main  body  or  a 
detachment  from  it.  General  Putnam,  with  about  three 
thousand,  were  left  in  the  city  to  defend  it  in  the  best 
manner  he  could  till  the  stores  should  be  all  removed,  in 
which  they  had  been  employed  for  several  days  before,  and 
would  have  completed  in  one  more.  From  all  I  can  collect, 
this  was  the  situation  of  affairs  on  Sunday  morning,  when 
the  ships  before  mentioned  began  a  very  heavy  firing  at 
Turtle  Bay,  to  scour  the  country  previous  to  their  landing 
the  troops,  but  hurt  nobody  that  I  can  hear  of.  When  the 
firing  ceased,  their  troops  began  to  land,  and  ours  to  run  as 
if  the  devil  was  in  them.  In  spite  of  all  the  general  could 
do  they  never  fired  one  gun.  General  Washington,  having 
discovered  the  enemy's  intention  to  land  at  that  place, 
ordered  a  reinforcement,  and  set  out  there  himself.  How 
ever,  before  he  got  to  the  place  he  met  our  people  running 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  193 

in  every  direction.  He  endeavored  by  persuasion  and 
threats  to  get  them  back,  but  all  to  no  purpose;  in  short, 
they  ran  till  they  left  the  general  to  shift  for  himself. 
General  Putnam,  who  was  in  New  York  with  his  people, 
hearing  what  had  happened,  made  the  best  of  his  way  to 
head-quarters,  lest  he  should  be  cooped  up,  fought  his  way 
through  the  enemy's  lines,  and  brought  his  men  to  camp, 
with  the  loss  of  only  three  or  four,  as  said.  It  seems  not 
one  of  the  men  who  ran  from  the  place  of  the  enemy's 
landing  was  from  this  side  the  North  River, — all  New  Eng 
land  men.  General  Washington  writes  he  is  advantageously 
situated  at  present,  and  if  attacked  should  be  more  than  a 
match  for  the  enemy,  if  their  numbers  were  even  more 
than  they  are,  provided  his  men  would  fight,  which  is  more 
to  be  wished  than  expected.  I  have  wrote  on  this  subject 
till  I  am  in  an  ill  humor,  and  my  only  comfort  is  that  by 
the  time  you  have  read  my  letter  you  will  be  as  angry  as  I 
am. 

"I  have  inclosed  Mr.  McKean's  order  on  the  trustees  of 
New  Castle,  thinking  it  might  be  wanting. 

"I  am,  gentlemen,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  (LESAR  RODNEY. 

"P.S. — My  boy  will  return  to-morrow  morning. 
"Messrs.  READ  and  McKEAN." 

The  grand  army  under  General  Washington  being  occu 
pied  in  the  defence  of  New  York,  the  shore  of  New  Jersey 
was  open  to  the  British,  who  might  debark  a  large  body  of 
troops,  and  march  them  into  the  very  heart  of  the  middle 
colonies.  Some  measure  of  defence  was  necessary  against 
this  danger,  and  Congress,  therefore,  called  upon  New 
Jersey,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  to  raise,  equip,  and  march 
ten  thousand  men  to  form  a  "Hying  camp"  in  the  middle 
colonies  for  their  protection,  and  to  serve  till  December  1st, 
1776.  These  troops  were  placed  under  the  command  of 
General  Mercer.*  The  battalion  furnished  by  Delaware 
was  commanded  by  Colonel  Samuel  Patterson,  who,  in  the 
course  of  this  service,  wrote  letters  to  Mr.  Read,  which  will 
be  inserted  in  the  order  of  their  dates. 

*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  395,  396;  Hildreth's 
History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  140,  141. 


194  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

The  first  of  these  letters  was  written  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  September  19th,  1176. 

"SiR. — This  day  I  leave  this  city,  thank  Go'l !  Never 
man  has  been  so  uneasy.  Yesterday  five  companies  went 
off  by  water;  Captain  Latimer  to-day;  and  what  few  re 
main  of  Captain  Woodgate's,  yesterday  about  twelve  o'clock 
had  them  all  paraded  to  embark.  The  whole  almost  lay- 
down  their  arms,  [and]  swore  they  would  not  go  without  a 
bounty  such  as  others  got  in  Pennsylvania.  I  told  them 
such  conduct  I  must  treat  in  a  proper  manner  if  they  did 
not  take  up  their  arms,  [which]  some  did  after  awhile.  I 
told  them  our  counties  were  generous,  and  good  behavior 
might  do  much,  but  on  no  other  terms  [could  they  expect 
the  bounty],  as  they  were  not  entitled  to  it.  However,  all 
would  not  do.  At  last  I  told  them  I  would  send  to  the 
<  Play-House'  for  two  battalions,  there,  to  disarm  them, 
and  making  every  soul  prisoners.  This  had,  with  the  other, 
good  effects.  I  got  them  down  to  the  wharf,  fixed  bayonets 
at  the  head  of  it,  [and]  sent  them  off.  Captain  Woodgate's 
arms  not  [being]  done,  [I]  kept  his  company  along  with 
the  others  to  go  with  me;  but,  to  my  astonishment,,  this 
morning  [I  learned]  his  whole  company  deserted  in  the 
night,  but  eleven  men.  Their  officers  are  after  them.  Cap 
tain  Woodgate  is  sick  in  the  'barracks,'  and  not  like  to  live; 
and  about  forty  men,  out  of  the  different  companies,  left 
behind. 

"I  hope  you  and  all  the  friends  of  government  will  keep 
a  strict  lookout  for  all  these  rascals  and  others. 

"  Yesterday  evening  [I]  received  Captain  Mitchell's  letter 
as  sent.  I  can  leave  no  officer,  but  he  must  march  up  as 
fast  as  possible.  Stores  and  blankets  [are]  at  Hollings- 
worth's  store  for  him,  for  forty  men.  I  shall  leave  a  letter 
for  him. 

"The  taking  New  York  last  Sunday  has  cast  our  people 
down  much;  but  this  morning  an  account  is  come,  generally 
believed,  that  on  Monday  last  the  regulars  went  out  to  at 
tack  our  people  at  a  place  called  Bunker's  Hill,  when  a 
bloody  engagement  ensued.  The  enemy  had  killed  3000, 
[and]  2000  taken  prisoners.  Our  loss  1000  men,  and  the 
brave  Putnam  slain.  Pray  God  it  may  be  true.  Our  spirits 
are  much  raised  again. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  195 

"  I  shall  give  you  a  small  opinion  on  battalion  affairs. 
If  ever  you  order  one  other,  never  sacrifice  liberty  to  licen 
tiousness  by  leaving  the  officers  to  be  chosen  as  mine  were. 
Had  I  known  the  men  in  general  I  would  not  [have]  went 
with  them.  Some  few  excessive  good  ;  others,  perhaps. 
another  day  may  be  brave  —  not  at  present.  In  my  opinion 
they  had  better  [have]  staid  at  home.  I  hope  I  shall  be 
able  to  go  through  this  campaign.  Nothing  shall  be  wanting 
on  my  side.  In  haste,  I  am,  sir,  your  real  friend  and  humble 
servant, 

"SAMUEL  PATTERSON.* 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  on  public 
business,  in  Wilmington." 

Colonel  Patterson  wrote  to  Mr.  Read  from 

BRUNSWICK,  September  22d,  1776, 


o'clock. 

"  SIR,  —  I  am  to  acquaint  you  that  I  am  now  setting  off  for 
Arnboy,  and  all  the  companies  [are]  here,  except  Captain 
Woodgate's  and  Captain  Mitchell's,  for  an  account  of  which 
I  refer  you  to  my  last.  If  the  men  who  deserted  are  not 
found  I  should  be  glad  you  would  take  the  remainder  and 
officers  under  your  notice  and  order  them  to  join  Captain 
Mitchell's  company,  if  coming  up,  or  discharge  them,  and 
not  suffer  them  to  pilfer  the  public  money  and  all  arms  and 
accoutrements,  if  agreeable  to  your  advisement.  I  expect 
no  good  from  them  ;  in  general,  rascals  in  principle  they  are. 

"  At  this  place  we  have  every  hour  news  from  New  York 
and  Paulus  Hook  about  setting  it  on  fire  on  Friday  night. 
Just  now  a  gentleman  arrived  [who]  seems  very  intelligent. 
He  says  the  regulars  set  it  on  lire  in  many  places  first,  and 

*  Samuel  Patterson  owned  a  large  grist-mill  about  one  mile  from 
Christiana  Bridge,  in  New  Castle  County,  Delaware,  and  carried  on 
business  as  a  miller  there.  The  tomb  over  his  remains  in  the  Presby 
terian  burying-ground  in  the  village  of  Christiana  bears  the  following 
epitaph  : 

"In  memory  of  Samuel  Patterson,  Esquire,  Colonel  of  the  Regiment 
of  the  %  flying  camp'  of  Delaware,  in  the  army  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  Brigadier-General  of  the  Militia  of  the  Delaware  State,  Con 
tinental  Loan  Officer  and  Treasurer  of  the  same  ;  [He]  departed  this 
life  27th  May,  1785,  aged  51  years;  was  a  zealous  friend  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution,  a  firm  patriot,  a  hospitable  and  an  honest  man." 


196  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

at  last  in  general  by  carrying  fire  in  one  hand  and  straw  in 
the  other,  and  that  the  Whigs,  when  New  York  was  taken, 
were  confined  in  gaols  and  places  so  full  that  they  could 
hold  no  more,  dragged,  and  cruelly  used.  That  the  city  is 
destroyed  almost  all  in  my  opinion  is  without  doubt,  and  by 
the  regulars,  although  some,  not  with  us,  want  to  say  we  did 
it — absurd. 

"To-day  I  shall  be  at  Amboy,  with  the  companies  with 
me.  Our  sick  men  are  recruiting  fast. 

"Captain  Woodgate  remained  [in  Philadelphia];  when 
I  left  him ;  [he]  had  but  eleven  men,  and  they  mostly 
sick,  himself  like  to  die,  and  since  have  heard  not  a  word 
about  him  I  heard  nothing  of  Captain  Mitchell's  company 
when  I  left  the  city,  or  of  him ;  left  accoutrements  for  forty 
men  at  Hollingsworth's  store,  which  he  is  to  look  out  and 
'deliver  to  him. 

"A  deserter  from  Howe  said  this  day  [there]  was  to  be  a 
general  attack  on  General  Washington. 

"In  haste,  I  am,  sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"My  best  respects  to  my  general  and  all  friends.  Since 
[they]  left  Philadelphia  the  battalion  is  sorry  for  their  mis 
behavior.  It  was  owing  to  a  rascal  telling  them  they  were 
fools  to  go  without  their  bounty.  As  I  have  no  time  to 
write  more,  please  let  my  father  know  I  am  here  and  well. 

"S.  P. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  in  New  Castle." 

Answered  the  3d  of  October. 

The  next  letter  is  from  Colonel  Bedford  from 

"CAMP,  NEAR  HEAD-QUARTERS,  October  1st,  1776. 
"•DEAR  SIR, — By  a  letter  received  from  Captain  Read  am 
informed  you  have  not  received  any  from  me,  which  I  am 
concerned  for  and  amazed  at,  as  I  have  wrote  you  three 
times  since  leaving  Philadelphia :  the  first  was  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  action  on  Long  Island,  just  before  I  went  over. 
I  delivered  it  to  my  Cousin  Gunning  Bedford,  who,  1  under 
stood,  went  to  Philadelphia  two  days  after;  once  by  the  post; 
and  the  other,  I  think,  by  some  gentleman  who  went  from 
the  Maryland  camp.  The  chief  part  of  our  time,  since 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  197 

leaving  Long  Island,  have  been  encamped  on  the  Heights 
of  Morrisania,  on  the  other  side  King's  Bridge,  a  very  re 
mote  place, — having  very  little  opportunity  of  writing.  I 
should  be  glad  to  use  every  opportunity  to  let  you  hear  from 
me,  especially  if  we  had  anything  to  communicate.  Your 
intelligence  must  be  better  than  lean  give  you  as  I  suppose 
you  frequently  hear  from  the  general. 

"The  enemy's  lines  and  ours  are  about  two  miles  from 
each  other.  By  information  lately  received,  and  which 
General  Washington  acquainted  us  with  in  orders,  they  are 
meditating  something  speedy,  which  has  put  us  on  our  guard 
for  these  few  nights  past,  the  army  parading  and  marching 
down  to  the  lines  two  hours  before  day,  and  when  the  lines 
are  completed  (which  they  are  very  forward  in)  I  think  our 
situation  will  be  a  good  one;  should  the  enemy  attempt 
them,  they  must  suffer  greatly. 

"Our  army  in  general  is  much  reduced  by  sickness  or 
something  else,  as  our  regiment  appears  equal  to  any  two  I 
have  yet  seen  in  the  service,  and  we  want  seventy  to  com 
plete  us,  and  [there  are]  one  hundred  sick.  Our  army  suf 
fers  much  for  many  things,  the  sick  especially,  as  there 
appears  to  be  no  medicines  anywhere.  I  know  it  the  case 
with  our  own  regiment  and  many  others.  Upon  the  whole, 
I  think  it  has  been  a  hard  campaign  and  a  discouraging  one. 
I  have  not  been  well  since  I  came  from  Philadelphia  till 
within  these  few  days.  I  feel  now  better,  though  I  have 
lost  no  duty.  Colonel  Haslet  and  the  major  are  both  un 
well.  The  colonel  is  in  the  country,  about  five  miles  from 
here,  and  has  been  there  these  three  weeks,  which  confines 
me  to  the  camp;  otherwise  I  think  I  should  go  to  Philadel 
phia  shortly  to  provide  some  winter  clothing  for  our  people, 
and  blankets,  of  which  near  two  hundred  are  without.  I 
have  very  seldom  heard  from  any  of  my  friends  to  the  south 
ward,  which  has  made  my  time  rather  uneasy.  I  expect 
this  will  go  safe  to  you,  and  shall  hope  to  hear  from  you 
soon.  In  the  mean  time,  with  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read, 
and  love  to  the  children,  I  am 

"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  GUNNING  BEDFORD. 

"To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire. 

"  Favored  by  Captain  Spenser." 


198  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Colonel  Patterson  writes  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"  HEAD -QUARTERS,  AMBOY,  October  4lb,  1776. 

"  SIR, — We  are  here  at  present,  and  I  believe  we  shall 
intinue  here  during  this  campaign,  if  the  Hessians  will 
jot  drive  us  out,  who  parade  just  before  us  every  day,  but 
by  some  accounts  our  general  has  received  there  are  not 
more  than  about  seven  hundred  men  opposite  to  us,  and  on 
the  island  about  fifteen  hundred.  I  am  sorry  to  say  I  don't 
think  we  have  effective  men  here  to  turn  out  above  one 
thousand  in  case  of  an  attack.  If  fear  does  not  take  hold 
of  us  I  think  we  can  beat  three  thousand,  owing  to  our 
situation.  It  is  whispered  these  few  days  the  Hessians  in 
tend  to  try  for  our  good  quarters,  but  from  what  point  I 
cannot  say.  General  Mercer  is  unwell  with  an  intermit 
tent.  General  Roberdeau  [is]  at  Bergen;  General  Dickin 
son  gone  home  for  a  few  days.  The  troops  here  live  well, 
and  in  great  plenty.  As  to  myself,  am  happy,  and  in  an 
elegant  house,  which  I  will  fight  for  before  I  give  it  up. 

"  Yesterday  our  lieutenant-colonel  joined  us,  as  also 
Captain  Caldwell's  company  from  Fort  Constitution — mis 
erable  living  there.  The  battalion  is  all  here  now,  but 
what  is  coining  up,  deserters  and  Captain  Mitchell's  re 
mainder.  Now  here,  four  hundred  and  sixty-one  men, 
officers  included.  Two  men  dead — one  in  Captain  Cald 
well's,  and  one  in  Captain  Manlove's.  If  I  ever  come  cam 
paigning  again,  I  should  never  be  for  bringing  up  the 
men  from  below.  They  are  not  fit  for  fatigue,  have  no 
constitutions,  and  are  always  dissatisfied.  Almost  fifty 
or  sixty  of  them  every  day  sick  and  unfit  for  duty,  and 
fond  of  desertion,  as  you  have  seen  at  Philadelphia;  the 
forty  who  deserted  there,  were  all  out  of  the  lower  county 
troops. 

*'  This  you  will  receive  by  Colonel  Latirner,  who  sets  off 
this  morning  to  join  his  regiment.  In  my  opinion  it  will 
be  of  little  service  this  campaign;  if  it  comes  as  militia, 
and  the  men  do  not  sign  their  enlistments,  they  will  only 
increase  the  confusion  here,  and  injure  subordination,  as  the 
militia  has  always  done.  Our  general  has  much  the  same 
opinion.  The  time  of  their  service,  if  they  turn  out,  must 
be  short,  as  they  will  not  be  here  before  November.  In 
short,  the  militia  I  have  seen  here  are  of  no  service — they 


OF  GEOEGE   EEAD.  199 

eat  up  the  colonies,  and  the  day  after  they  arrive  here  are 
ever  wishing  to  be  back.    • 

"  I  left   at   Philadelphia   everything  Captain    Mitchell 
wanted,  for  forty  men  of  accoutrements,  but  by  some  fate 
he  did  not  get  my  letter,  and  came  up  in  want  of  all. 
have  supplied  him  here,  and  written  to  Mr.  Hollingsworto 
to  sell  what  was  left  with  him. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"  Remember  me  to  General  McKinley,  and  all  friends. 
Pray  ask  how  old  bachelor  Morris  is,  in  my  name. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Wilmington,  favored  by  Colonel 
G.  Latimer." 

Again  Colonel  Patterson  writes  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"PERTH  AMBOY,  October  9th,  17T6. 

"  SIR, — I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Rodney,  dated  Octo 
ber  2d,  wherein  he  says  he  received  a  letter  from  my 
quartermaster,  Mr.  Watson,  wherein  he  complained  he  was 
not  fit  for  the  task.  I  must  say  I  think  so.  Mr.  Rodney's 
answer  to  me  on  that  head  was  that  he  had  a  right  to  re 
sign,  and  thinks  it  would  be  proper  for  me  to  accept  [his 
resignation],  and  as  our  States  [Assembly]  are  not  sitting, 
inclose  it  to  the  President  of  Congress,  and  they  to  commis 
sion  some  other  person,  and  I  to  name  one.  This  I  com 
municated  to  Mr.  Watson,  and  persuaded  him  to  stay.  He 
said  he  grew  worse  and  could  not  perform.  This  morning 
he  sets  off  from  here  for  home.  Inclosed  is  his  commission, 
with  notes  that  he  has  settled  and  paid  off  for  all  his  trans 
actions.  The  time  is  so  short  that  it  is  hardly  worth  any 
person  coming  from  your  place  to  accept  of  the  quarter- 
mastership.  We  have  at  present  one  George  Purvis  acting, 
till  further  orders.  He  was  adjutant  in  Sussex,  as  he  tells 
me,  to  General  Dagworthy's  battalion,  and  was  a  candidate 
for  the  adjutantcy  in  mine. 

"  I  now  note  the  welcome  receipt  of  your  letter,  per  Major 
Duff.  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  resolves  of  our 
Convention. 

"  You  will  note  Mr.  Rodney  said  in  his  last,  he  was  re 
turning  home  from  Congress  very  ill,  and  applied  to  me  to 
get  him  a  medicine  for  his  eye,  which  I  did  ;  it  now  comes 


200  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

per  Mr.  Watson  :  perhaps  Mr.  Watson  may  be  tardy  or  sick 
on  his  way  down,  if  so,  please  to  forward  it  by  a  messenger 
on  purpose;  his  anxiety  for  it  is  great,  and  by  accounts  here 
it  has  in  some  instances  done  wonders  in  that  way.  Pray 
don't  fail. 

"  I  have  also,  for  your  perusal,  inclosed  you  a  state [ment] 
of  my  battalion,  as  per  returns  from  the  different  captains, 
and  you  will  see  by  that  the  number  of  sick,  but  in  fact  I 
could  add  as  many  more,  not  fit  to  turn  out  to  do  business 
— mostly  the  lower  companies.  By  this  you  will  see  we 
have  room  for  your  new  battalion — men,  without  any  addi 
tional  expense  of  officers ;  however,  I  don't  expect  men  nor 
battalion  from  your  place.  The  [winter]  season  always  makes 
men  cold:  were  I  there,  I  think  I  could  convince  you  our 
patriotism  ran  too  high  to  keep  up,  notwithstanding  £7.10 
and  one  hundred  acres  of  land  in  view,  till  the  spring,  and 
then  hearts  will  be  warm.  We  want  no  help  here  but 
what  we  have,  for  we  frighten  the  Hessians  every  week. 
They  are  erecting  new  works  before  our  faces,  for  fear,  on 
every  corner  where  our  boats  can  land,  near  us;  some  of 
them  we  had  brought  down  from  up  the  Raritan,  in  their 
sight.  You  cannot  conceive  how  afraid  they  are  at  present, 
as  they  are  by  desertion  weak,  and  have  not  more  than  six 
hundred  men  in  two  small  encampments  opposite  us.  We 
have  now  here  in  camp,  I  suppose,  four  thousand  men,  and 
about  one  I  am  certain  is  about  as  many  as  could  push  a 
fierce  bayonet.  However,  never  fear  us.  A  good  general 
we  have:  every  man  loves  him;  his  great  tenderness  and 
humanity  have  endeared  him  to  all, — General  Mercer.  He 
has  been  sick  with  a  tertian,  at  present  is  better.  My  re 
spects  to  all  friends.  No  general  here  but  General  M . 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"Tell  General  McKinley  I  will  not  write  till  he  does. 
Poor  Captain  Kain  is  in  a  very  bad  way  with  the  dysentery, 
about  six  days  [ill] ;  am  afraid  he  will  not  recover.  A  noble 
officer — as  such  he  will  be  missed  by  me." 

Colonel  Bedford  writes  to  Mr.  Read  from  the 

"CAMP  NEAR  HEAD-QUARTERS,  October  10th,  1776. 
"DEAR  SIR, — When  I  wrote  you  last  I  informed  you  of 
my  disappointment  to  hear  you  had  not  received  any  letters 
from  me,  as  I  had  wrote  you  often. 


OF  GEORGE   READ  201 

"We  were  yesterday  alarmed  with  the  Roebuck,  Phoenix, 
and  Repulse  men-of-war  pnssing  us  up  the  Norfh  River. 
They  did  it  without  receiving  much  damage  that  we  could 
know  of.  We  had  no  person  hurt,  or  any  damage  done. 
It  is  reported  they  have  taken  two  of  our  galleys  up  the 
river  about  two  miles  from  this,  but  I  have  no  certainty  of 
this.  I  am  now  convinced  men-of  war  can  pass  any  place 
with  fair  wind  and  tide.  Lord  Sterling  has  returned  from 
captivity,  and  our  brigade  he  has  again  taken  charge  of,  as 
General  Mifflin  is  to  do  quartermaster-general's  duty,  and 
no  other.  We  are  in  much  the  same  situation  as  when  I 
wrote  you  last.  We  are  strengthening  our  lines, — the 
enemy  are  also  busy  with  theirs.  Our  duty  continues  hard, 
having  the  lines  to  man  every  morning  before  day,  and 
they  are  a  mile  and  a  half  from  here,  and  [we  have]  a 
great  deal  of  other  duty.  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  that 
many  of  our  men  have  deserted  to  the  enemy,  though  none 
from  our  regiment.  Many  from  the  York  regiment,  and  a 
few  from  Colonel  Shee's  that  was,  and  Magaw's.  We  have 
had  none  from  the  enemy  till  within  these  few  days.  The 
day  before  yesterday  I  had  the  advanced  guard  on  the 
North  River,  when  two  of  the  enemy's  soldiers  came  over 
to  me.  There  seems  no  probability  that  the  Hessians  will. 
The  deserters  say  the  enemy  are  apprehensive  of  an  attack 
from  us.  They  all,  likewise,  say  they  are  healthy,  and 
their  army  strong, — above  thirty  thousand.  The  day  before 
yesterday  two  brigades  of  the  enemy  went  over  to  Long 
Island.  Our  army  is  very  sickly  yet.  We  have  one  hun 
dred  and  forty  of  our  regiment  unfit  for  duty.  We  have 
neither  hospitals  nor  medicines  for  them,  which  makes  them 
suffer  much.  I  am  glad  to  hear  of  General  Thompson's 
return, — if  you  see  him,  remember  me  to  him.  Colonel 
Haslet  and  our  major  are  both  well.  I  am  likewise  so,  and 
have  been  for  some  time.  Colonel  Haslet  is  not  yet  come 
to  camp:  he  continues  in  the  country.  My  duty  has  been 
something  the  harder  for  it.  I  have  some  expectation  of 
going  down  before  a  long  time,  if  it  is  admissible.  I  want 
to  see  you  much.  I  have  no  news  to  acquaint  you  of.  Our 
army  seems  in  good  spirits,  and  we  think  our  lines  are 
secure,  if  they  should  be  attempted.  You  will  please  give 

14 


202  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  all  friends.     I  am  your 
affectionate  brother, 

"G.  BEDFORD. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  next  letter  of  Colonel   Patterson  to  Mr.  Read  is 

from 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  October  12th,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Your  kind  favor  [is]  received  by  Captain 
Rumford,  and  [I]  note  its  contents  for  answer.  This  morn 
ing  there  is  a  surprising  change  here;  perhaps  occasioned 
by  General  Lee's  arrival  here  last  evening.  This  I  leave 
to  the  world's  wise  conjectures,  as  many  such  prophecies 
have  lately  been. 

"  This  morning  [there]  is  not  a  Hessian  in  sight  of  us. 
They  had  two  encampments  right  opposite  us,  and  sentries 
opposite  our  lines  two  miles  long.  Last  night  they  struck 
[their]  tents,  and  carts  and  wagons  they  had  employed  all 
night;  also  a  ship  of  sixteen  guns  lay  before  my  door,  which 
skulked  after  them  in  the  dark,  and  I  do  suppose  the  whole 
are  marched  for  the  southeast  end  of  the  island,  there  to 
cross  or  embark  to  assist  General  Howe  in  some  place,  for 
by  some  accounts  the  British  army  is  not  very  strong,  as 
we*  had  imagined,  as  was  stated  in  a  letter  to  General  Mer 
cer,  which  I  saw  about  six  days  ago.  I  wrrote  you  the 
other  day,  per  Hugh  McCorachen,  of  Christiana,  with  a 
letter  and  small  bundle  of  medicine  for  Mr.  Rodney  for  his 
eye.  Do  forward  it  by  a  special  [messenger]  if  he  has  gone 
home.  I  shall  send  him  more,  to  your  care,  to-morrow 
without  fail. 

"I  will  write  you,  per  every  opportunity,  any  further 
movements  of  the  enemy. 

"As  to  the  new  battalion,  [I]  am  not  very  sorry  to  hear 
it  will  not  come  out  this  blessed  year.  You  mention  Colo 
nel  Latimer's  not  receiving  your  letter.  He  did  about  six 
miles  from  this.  His  carrying  off  the  drummer  was  not, 
in  my  opinion,  genteel;  and,  in  fact,  his  coming  up  and 
going  down  was  to  me  extraordinary,  and  he  had  like  to  have 
broken  up  his  company  with  his  fair  promises.  Three 
deserted  that  night,  but  followed  by  a  good  sergeant,  who 
secured  them,  and  brought  them  back.  His  men  would 
hardly  serve  under  him  if  he  was  reappointed.  Major 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  203 

Duff  now  waits  for  this  letter;  I  cannot  say  much  more. 
My  respects  to  all  friends. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"  I  am  glad  to  tell  you  Captain  Kain  is  recovering  and 
out  of  danger. — S.  P. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  KEAD,  Esquire.  Favored  by 
Major  Duff." 

Colonel  Patterson  writes  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  October  13th,  1776. 

"SiR, — This  you  will  receive  per  Doctor  Duff,  with  a 
paper  bundle  for  Mr.  Rodney,  for  his  eye;  the  same  as 
some  sent  before,  and  to  be  used  in  the  same  way.  You 
will  please  to  forward  it  per  the  first  safe  hand. 

"I  wrote  you  yesterday,  per  Major  Duff,  of  the  Hessians 
evacuating  Staten  Island.  Yesterday  our  people  passed 
and  repassed  all  about.  Not  a  Hessian  on  the  island.  Many 
persons  have  also  come  over.  As  to  the  number  of  the  Hes 
sians  none  agree.  They  are  gone  over  to  Long  Island;  some 
say  fifteen  hundred  men,  some  say  four  thousand;  but  there 
was  no  large  body  [of  them]  together.  The  inhabitants 
say  they  in  general  behaved  well  to  them,  and  swore  them 
to  George.  As  a  badge  such  wear  white  crosses  on  their 
breast.  We  used  to  see  many  of  them,  but  did  not  know 
their  order  before.  We  cannot  see  any  now  of  them,  nor, 
I  hope,  will  soon.  In  the  two  camps  before  us,  they  were 
so  afraid  of  our  coming  over  that  horses  were  always  in 
harness,  and  for  their  guns  also,  these  two  weeks  past.  We 
never  could  get  any  account  of  their  number  before,  with 
all  our  art,  so  well  did  they  watch  the  island.  In  haste,  I 
am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"I  wish  they  had  staid  here,  for  Fort  Constitution  I 
don't  like.  I  am  happy  here.  General  Lee  staid  only  one 
night  here, — is  gone  to  head -quarters,  with  spades,  etc. 
— S.  P." 

Colonel  Patterson  further  informs  Mr.  Read  of  the  opera 
tions  of  the  "flying  camp"  in  his  next  letter  from 


204  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  AMBOY,  October  17th,  1T76. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  have  now  just  time  to  write  you  a  few 
lines,  which  I  should  have  done  before,  only  for  this  reason : 
just  as  I  returned  from  our  excursion  to  Staten  Island,  [I] 
was  ordered  with  my  battalion  to  march  to  Fort  Constitu 
tion,  to  join  General  Washington,  but  now  have  got  a  re 
prieve  from,  as  it  were,  death.  Our  general  has  sent  others 
in  our  room,  owing  to  our  battalion's  being  very  sickly. 
Now  [I]  am  likely  to  have  my  good  quarters  yet  till  we 
retreat. 

"I  shall  now  give  you  a  small  sketch  of  our  affair  to  clear 
Staten  Island,  in  the  order  [in  which]  it  was  conducted; 
and  as  to  our  success,  we  sent  you  a  sample  of  the  Hessians 
down  and  regulars — in  all  seventeen  prisoners. 

"On  the  14th,  in  the  evening,  General  Mercer  ordered 
part  of  four  battalions  to  be  ready  (mine  all)  to  march  and 
go  on  board  boats  at  eight  o'clock  that  evening.  We  did, 
in  the  whole  about  six  hundred  men,  with  two  pieces  of 
brass  artillery.  We  crossed  all  about  ten  o'clock  at  night, 
in  order  to  attack  a  small  fort  at  the  east  end  of  that 
island,  at  the  watering-place,  and  to  be  there  by  break  of 
day, — seventeen  miles,  our  battalion  in  front, — and  to  march 
there  on  all  occasions.  We  had  with  us  General  Mercer 
and  General  Green.  When  we  got  two  miles  on,  an  ex 
press  followed  us  for  Generals  Mercer  and  Green  to  attend 
a  council  of  war  of  General  Washington's  in  the  morning. 
On  this  we  had  liked  to  have  returned.  General  Green  did. 
At  the  same  time  was  informed  by  the  country  people  that 
the  fort  was  reinforced  the  day  before  by  the  arrival  of 
fresh  troops  from  England,  Hessians,  to  about  twelve  hun 
dred  men.  This  put  us  to  a  stand;  then  sent  our  artillery 
back  on  consultation.  Not  far  off  we  heard  there  were 
about  two  hundred  and  fifty  soldiers,  as  they  said,  at  the 
town  of  Richmond.  We  then  agreed  to  pick  them  up. 
Genpral  Mercer  ordered  us  to  divide,  and  sent  my  battalion, 
with  Colonel  Griffin  and  myself,  with  two  rifle  companies, 
to  march  about  a  mile  below  the  town,  by  a  route  of  near 
five  miles,  to  accomplish  it,  and  to  lay  about  there  till  near 
break  of  day,  to  cut  off  their  retreat  between  that  place 
and  the  main  fort,  about  six  miles  [distant].  [This]  we 
did,  and  a  dark  march  we  had. 

"About  break  of  day  we  arrived.     General  Mercer's  plan 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  205 

was — he  to  attack,  with  his  party,  in  three  places,  and  we 
to  be  ready  at  the  same  time  in  the  other  quarters.  Colonel 
Griffin  was  too  eager.  He  ordered  my  battalion  to  attack 
as  soon  as  it  came  up.  At  this  time  the  others  had  not  a 
man  arrived.  This  then  was  dawn  of  day.  We  began  at 
it  as  hard  as  we  could  blaze.  The  few  enemy  there  were 
ready  at  a  church  and  a  corner  of  the  street  near  there. 
We  should  not  have  begun  so  soon,  but  came  near  one  of 
their  sentries,  who  fired  at  our  advanced  flanking-party, 
[commanded  by]  Captain  Rumford,  which  brought  us  all  to 
work,  and  not  being  light,  had  liked  to  have  shot  our  own 
people.  It  lasted  about  one  hour  in  attacking  parties  of 
the  regulars  that  ran  up  the  hill,  and  made  a  small  stand 
in  the  cedars,  and  then  ran  off.  We  killed  five  of  theirs, 
ajid  [had]  two  of  ours  killed,  and  three  or  four  wounded. 
One  of  the  killed  was  of  my  battalion.  Colonel  Griffin  got 
wounded  in  the  first  fire  in  the  heel.  [Fie  is]  now  in  a 
good  way.  I  then  had  the  command.  About  half  an  hour 
after  the  first  attack  the  general  came  up,  amidst  smoke, 
and  escaped  narrowly  from  being  fired  on  by  our  own 
people,  as  it  was  not  light  [enough]  to  know  him.  He  is  a 
hero,  and  as  cool  in  his  plans  as  a  philosopher.  I  love  him. 
We  nearly  catched  Courtlandt  Skinner,*  the  villain  (he  has 
raised  a  company  of  Tories),  but  the  cedars  hid  him.  I  was 
in  his  room  where  he  has  lived  for  some  time.  You  would 
not  give  five  pounds  for  it,  and  a  poor  bed  to  lie  on.  Ships 
— numbers  in  sight  at  the  Hook — -just  arrived.  This  letter 
you  will  excuse  not  corning  sooner. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  real  friend, 

"  SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 
"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esq." 

We  are  now  approaching  the  darkest  period  of  the  Ameri 
can  Revolution,  when  reverses  were  followed  by  reverses  till 
all  seemed  lost.  Mr.  Rodney  expresses  in  the  following  letter 
his  feelings,  which  were  those  of  all  true  patriots,  at  this 

*  Soon  after  the  battle  of  Brooklyn,  Oliver  Delancy,  the  captor  of 
Wood  hull,  brother  of  a  former  Governor  of  New  York,  and  Courtlandt 
Skinner,  late  Attorney-General  of  New  Jersey,  and  Speaker  of  the  As 
sembly,  were  commissioned  as  brigadiers,  with  authority  to  raise  four 
bittalions  each,  to  be  commanded  by  Try  on  as  Major-General. — Hil- 
dreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  p.  153. 


206  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

dark  hour;  he  is  indignant  at  the  base  men  who  thought 
only  of  coining  gold  out  of  the  public  distress;  he  is  sad. 
but  not  despondent  or  despairing,  and  counsels  not  the 
seeking  safety  for  himself  or  friends,  but  more  strenuous 
efforts  to  save  his  country  and  more  earnest  thought  for 
means  to  that  noble  end  : 

"  DOVER,  October  25th,  1776. 

"  SIR, — Since  I  came  to  Kent  I  have  purchased  and  paid 
for  coarse  cloths  to  the  amount  of  near  two  hundred  pounds. 
They  come  very  dear;  but  what  is  worse,  I  have  little  or 
no  expectation  that  many  more  can  be  got.  The  shops 
throughout  this  county  seem  to  be  entirely  drained.  Part 
of  those  I  have  are  home-made.  Be  pleased  to  let  me  know 
whether  you  would  propose  that  the  House  should  take 
such  order  in  the  matter  as  to  enable  me  to  raise  an  account 
against  this  State  for  these  articles  procured  for  the  Dela 
ware  battalion,  or  whether  I  must  look  elsewhere  to  be  re 
imbursed.  Dear  as  the  cloths  are  they  will  now  sell  for 
considerably  more  than  I  gave. 

"The  last  papers  announce  the  almost  total  defeat  of  our 
fleet,  under  General  Arnold.*  Though  I  greatly  feel  for  the 
loss  the  continent  hath  sustained  and  the  many  disadvan 
tages  we  may  have  to  labor  under  in  consequence  of  it,  yet 
I  cannot  but  be  much  pleased  with  [the]  behavior  of  that 
brave  officer  and  his  men.  They  are  certainly  a  parcel  of 
fine  fellows,  and  will,  while  they  show  such  bravery,  con 
vince  their  opponents  that  America  is  not  to  be  subdued 
but  by  Americans.  Yet  the  uneasiness  and  discontent  which 
too  generally  prevail  among  the  common  people,  partly  oc 
casioned  by  the  scarcity  and  intolerable  prices  of  necessary 
articles,  is  much  to  be  lamented,  as  it  tends  more  to  the  in 
jury  of  the  cause  than  anything  I  know.  The  disaffected, 
by  painting  the  distresses  of  the  people  in  strong  colors,  will 
create  such  a  general  discontent  as  that  I  fear  the  more  un 
thinking  among  those  will,  hi  a  little  time,  wish  to  submit, 
even  at  discretion,  rather  than  contend.  For  this  approach 
ing  evil  we  must  find  a  remedy.  Government  must  exert 
itself.  But  what  can  government  do  with  those  persons 
who  are  base  enough  to  ingross  these  necessaries  of  life,  in 
a  time  of  general  distress,  when  every  nerve  should  be 

*  On  Lake  Champlain,  4th  and  12th  of  October,  1776. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  207 

strained  in  the  prosecution  of  the  cause,  with  a  desire  to 
accumulate  fortunes,  even  at  the  expense  of  their  dearest 
rights  and  privileges?  To  submit  now  is  undoubtedly  to  be 
slaves.  However,  I  know  you  have  turned  your  thoughts 
for  a  considerable  time  past  to  these  things,  and  your  more 
fruitful  invention  will  contrive,  if  possible,  a  remedy. 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  Colonel  Patterson  a  few  days 
ago.  No  news,  but  says  Watson,  the  quartermaster,  has, 
as  all  quartermasters  do,  discovered  a  profit  in  the  business, 
and  therefore  intends  to  continue  in  the  service. 

"With  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Head,  I  am,  sir,  your 
sincere  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"CAESAR  RODNEY. 

"  To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  at  Wilming 
ton,  per  Mr.  Garmant." 

After  the  evacuation  of  New  York  the  British  were  posted 
on  York  Island, — their  right  upon  Horen's  Hook,  on  the 
East  River,  and  their  left  on  the  North  River,  near  Bloom- 
ingdale,  the  distance  between  these  points  being  about  two 
miles.  Skirmishes  took  place,  in  one  of  which  the  Ameri 
cans  behaved  well,  so  recovering  character  and  restoring, 
somewhat,  confidence.  The  American  army  was  so  advan 
tageously  posted — ten  thousand  at  King's  Bridge,  which 
was  strongly  fortified,  and  six  thousand  on  Harlem  Heights, 
nearer  New  York — that  General  Howe  would  not  risk  an 
attack  upon  it  from  New  York,  but  determined  to  gain 
their  rear  by  moving  his  troops  behind  King's  Bridge,  and 
for  this  object,  embarking  them  in  flat-boats,  landed  at 
Frog's  Neck,  on  the  east  of  the  Sound.  While  the  British 
commander-in-chief  remained  there  a  short  time,  awaiting 
reinforcements,  guns,  and  stores,  a  council  of  war  to  counter 
act  his  plan  of  shutting  up  the  American  army  in  the  island, 
and  forcing  it  to  give  battle  on  unfavorable  terms  or  sur 
render,  recommended  that  its  position  should  be  changed 
by  extending  its  front  or  left  up  the  North  River  towards 
the  White  Plains,  beyond  the  enemy's  right.  The  Ameri 
can  army  was  accordingly  disposed,  having  quitted  York 
Island.  Its  right  or  rear  division  remained  a  few  days  in 
the  vicinity  of  King's  Bridge  to  cover  the  baggage,  which 
could  not  be  quickly  removed  for  want  of  wagons.  General 
Howe's  reinforcements  having  been  landed  at  Pell's  Point, 


208  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

where,  with  his  army,  he  united  with  them,  he,  October 
18th,  advanced,  but  with  very  great  caution.  On  the  21st 
he  was  posted  at  New  Rochelle,  and  General  Washington 
on  the  high  grounds  between  it  and  the  North  River.  The 
British,  reinforced  by  Knyphausen's  division  from  New 
Rochelle,  moved,  as  did  the  Americans,  toward  White 
Plains,  where  a  large  camp  was  marked  out  and  where  was 
posted  a  detachment  of  militia,  the  ground  being  strong. 
General  Washington,  by  degrees  calling  in  his  outposts, 
occupied,  October  25th,  the  high  grounds  east  of  the  river 
Brunx,  where,  on  the  26th,  Lee  joined  him  with  the  rear 
division.  "On  the  28th  the  American  army  was  encamped 
on  a  long  ridge  of  hills  on  which  they  had  hastily  con 
structed  lines.  A  bend  of  the  Brunx  protected  the  right 
flank,  and  another  turning  secured  the  right  wing.  The 
left  wring  was  posted  on  uneven  ground,  steep  and  rugged 
in  front,  but  affording  a  secure  retreat  in  the  rear.  The 
most  accessible  part  was  the  centre,  the  slope  of  the  hill 
being  there  gradual,  the  lines  not  fraised,  and  the  ditches, 
from  the  rockiness  of  the  soil,  shallow."*  General  McDou- 
gal,  with  sixteen  hundred  men,  chiefly  militia,  was  posted 
upon  a  hill,  to  the  right  of  the  American  troops,  distant 
about  a  mile  from  them,  on  the  west  of  the  Brunx,  to  cover 
their  right  flank.  On  the  28th,  at  an  early  hour,  the  British 
advanced  upon  the  American  lines.  Having  driven  in  their 
outposts,  a  cannonade  was  begun  at  ten  o'clock  and  kept  up 
by  both  for  some  time  with  little  or  none  effect.  Howe 
then  determined  to  occupy  the  hill,  where  McDougal  was 
posted,  and  attacked  it,  with  Lesly's  brigade  and  Donop's 
grenadiers,  on  the  right  flank  and  in  front,  the  Brunx  being 
passable  with  ease.  The  militia  fled,  but  the  regulars, 
Smallwood's  Marylanders  and  Reitzemar's  New  Yorkers, 
bravely  advanced  to  meet  the  enemy,  but  were  compelled 
by  superior  numbers  to  retreat.  The  residue  of  McDougal's 
force,  consisting  of  his  brigade,  the  Delaware  battalion,  and 
a  small  regiment  of  Connecticut  militia,  were  driven  from 
the  hill,  but  for  some  time  kept  up  an  irregular  contest  from 
behind  the  stone  walls  which  divided  the  adjacent  fields. 
The  Americans  lost  between  three  and  four  hundred  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners.  The  day  was  so  far  spent 

*  Bissett's  Reign  of  George  III.,  vol.  i.  p.  404. 


Ot    GEORGE   HEAD.  209 

in  taking  the  hill  that  the  assault  on  the  American  camp 
was  deferred  till  October  29th,  and  General  Washington 
having  strengthened  his  intrenchments  and  drawn  back  his 
right  to  stronger  ground,  it  was  further  postponed  to  the 
30th,  when  reinforcements,  under  Lord  Percy,  arrived;  but 
rain  then  prevented  the  attack,  and,  on  November  1st, 
Washington,  fearing  that  the  loss  of  the  hill  taken  from 
McDougal  would  enable  the  British  to  gain  his  rear,  with 
drew  to  North  Castle  Heights,  distant  five  miles.  The 
foregoing  summary  of  events  from  the  evacuation  of  New 
York  to  the  1st  of  November,  1776,  seemed  to  me  a  neces 
sary  preface  to  the  following  letter  of  Colonel  Bedford  to 
Mr.  Read  from 

"  CAMP,  ABOUT  FIVE  MILES  FROM  WHITE  PLAINS, 

"November  2d,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  have  just  received  your  letter,  per  Cap 
tain  Dean,  with  the  paper  inclosed,  for  which  am.  much 
obliged. 

"  Since  our  leaving  York  Island  have  been  in  perpetual 
motion.  The  enemy  moving  has  caused  our  regiment  to  do 
so  also.  I  have  now  slept  five  nights  without  a  tent  or  any 
thing  but  the  ground  to  lay  on,  and  not  a  blanket  to  cover 
us,  our  baggage  being  ten  miles  from  us,  and  our  station 
being  advanced  toward  the  enemy,  which  is  always  our 
case.  I  have  very  little  conveniency  of  writing  at  present, 
being  obliged  to  sit  on  the  ground  and  use  the  backs  of  letters.* 
I  would  inform  you  of  the  occurrences  lately.  About  ten 
days  since  Colonel  Haslet,  Major  Green,  of  the  Virginians, 
and  myself  were  ordered,  with  six  hundred  men,  to  inarch 
and  attack  Colonel  Rogersf  (the  famous  Major  Rogers  for- 

*  On  the  back  of  this  letter  is  written  "  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bedford, 
of  the  Delaware  Battalion,  near  New  York,  per  Captain  Dean." 

|  Robert  Rogers,  born  in  New  Hampshire,  was  a  distinguished  par 
tisan  officer  in  the  war  with  France  which  issued  in  the  loss  to  her  of 
Canada.  His  exploits  and  escapes  at  the  head  of  his  "  Rangers"  were 
as  daring  and  romantic  as  those  of  Stark  and  Putnam.  When  the 
Revolution  commenced,  he  was,  or  pretended  for  a  time  to  be,  neutral, 
but  in  1775  was  in  Carleton's  pay  as  a  spy.  In  1776  he  was  in  New 
York,  and  being  suspected  was  arrested,  but  set  free  by  Congress,  upon 
his  written  engagement  "  on  the  honor  of  a  gentleman"  not  to  serve 
against  the  United  States  while  the  war  continued  with  Great  Britain. 
But  he  immediately  after  violated  this  pledge,  entered  the  British  ser 
vice,  received  the  commission  of  colonel,  raised  a  corps  of  Tories,  and 


210  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

merly)  and  his  regiment,  which  was  supposed  to  be  about 
three  hundred  strong,  or  his  outguard.  Accordingly  we 
proceeded ;  but  instead  of  meeting  with  his  main  body  our 
guides  brought  us  (it  was  eleven  o'clock  at  night)  on  their 
picket-guard,  consisting  of  seventy  men,  thirty-six  of  whom 
we  brought  off,  and  about  fifty  muskets  and  as  many  blan 
kets;  the  rest,  I  believe,  were  chiefly  slain,  as  several  de 
serters  from  that  corps  (they  are  called  Royal  Rangers)  say 
but  two  escaped.  We  had  two  men  killed.  Major  Green, 
who  had  the  chief  merit  on  that  occasion,  and  made  the 
first  attack,  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  was  wounded 
through  the  shoulder  near  the  socket,  but  hope  he  will  re 
cover,  and  six  or  seven  men  wounded.  The  place  we 
attacked  was  about  ten  miles  from  our  camp,  and  called 
4  Marnaraneck.'  Instead  of  three  hundred  we  afterwards 
learned  they  had  six  hundred,  and  fled  on  the  alarm.* 

"  Last  Monday  the  enemy  advanced  on  our  lines  on  the 
(  White  Plains.'  Our  regiment  was  ordered  to  reinforce 
General  McDougal's  brigade,  who  occupied  an  advantageous 
hill.  The  enemy  soon  made  preparations  to  gain  it,  and 
at  last  succeeded,  after  our  defending  it  in  the  best  manner 
we  could  with  our  small  number,  in  comparison  of  the 
enemy,  and  a  large  train  of  artillery.  They  cannonaded 
us  with  their  whole  force,  which,  I  suppose,  was  as  great 
as  any  ever  brought  out,  which  forced  a  retreat.  Our  regi 
ment  lost  about  fifteen  killed  and  as  many  wounded.  Cap 
tain  Adams,  of  our  regiment,  we  fear  is  killed,  as  he  is 
missing.  We  had  an  ensign,  Hazard,  shot  through  the  arm, 
[and  which  is]  broke [n].  Captain  Caldwell  is  slightly 
wounded  in  the  wrist,  and  myself  in  the  arm,  but  am  now 
quite  well  of  it,  as  is  Caldwell.  The  night  before  last  our 
lines  at  White  Plains  were  evacuated,  and  yesterday  the 
enemy  took  possession.  We  are  about  five  miles  from  them, 
and  expect  them  here  next,  probably  to-morrow.  You  men 
tion  the  new  appointment  of  officers  in  this  battalion.  I 
wish  to  see  you,  but  at  present  can  only  inform  you  I  mean 
to  decline  serving  any  longer  if  you  think  well  of  it.  I 

at  their  head  was  now  serving  against  his  countrymen,  who,  while  they 
dreaded  the  courage,  enterprise,  and  resources  of  this  renowned  partisan, 
hated  him  intensely  as  an  apostate  and  despised  him  for  his  breach  of 
parole. 

*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  500,  501. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  211 

believe  too  many  of  our  officers  will  also  [decline  serving], 
as  they  generally  talk  of  it.  You  will  do  as  you  think  best. 
For  my  part  I  am  tired  of  the  service.  We  have  just  re 
ceived  orders  while  I  am  writing  this  to  fortify  this  post. 
There  is  only  Lord  Sterling's  brigade  here.  We  are  on  the 
right  of  the  whole  army,  and  'tis  supposed  the  enemy  mean 
to  surround  us,  which  must  be  done  by  forcing  their  way 
on  our  right.  I  must  conclude,  with  my  compliments  to 
all  friends. 

"  Your  affectionate  brother, 

"  G.  BEDFORD. 
"  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esq." 

Colonel  Patterson  gives  Mr.  Kead  further  information  of 
the  state  of  his  battalion,  asks  his  opinion  upon  a  point  it 
was  difficult  to  decide,  and  makes  some  useful  suggestions 
in  his  next  letter,  dated 

"  HEAD-QUARTERS,  PERTH  AMBOY,  November  4th,  17 76. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  wrote  you  two  letters  lately,  [and] 
as  yet  [have  received]  no  answer.  This  comes  by  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Eakin,  who  is  now  going  home,  by  leave, 
not  to  return.  He  has  been  an  honor  to  your  appointment. 
As  to  news  here,  [there  is]  none  material.  Our  battalion 
is  half  [of]  the  garrison,  and  by  some  late  accounts  our 
enemy  are  numerous  on  Staten  Island.  General  Mercer  at 
present  [is]  supposed  to  be  at  head-quarters.  My  battalion 
is  somewhat  mending,  and  this  day  and  yesterday  [I]  dis 
charged  about  thirty  men — invalids,  supposed  not  to  be 
able  to  do  duty  our  time,  at  their  own  request,  and  perhaps 
soon  sixty  more  [will  be  discharged].  Their  clothing  ex 
cessive  thin.  [It  is]  now  here  very  cold.  No  likelihood  of 
[things]  mending  here.  By  deaths  and  discharges  have 
many  arms.  [I]  have  ordered  chests  to  be  made  [for  them], 
and  shall  send  them  down  to  Messrs.  Hollingsworths'  store, 
under  guard,  to  lie  there  until  your  further  orders,  or  I  re 
turn  with  an  inventory  if  approved  of.  In  discharging  the 
men  [I]  am  much  at  a  loss  how  to  act — whether  to  pay 
them  from  the  day  of  enlistment  or  not.  Some  have  done 
one  way,  some  the  other,  as  the  captains  say  they  had  some 
assurance.  I  well  know  the  orders,  but  think  it  hard  they 
should  not  be  paid  from  the  date.  Your  answer  to  this 


212  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

point  I  want  much,  [as  I  wish]    to  do  justice  to  all,  but 
those  sick  would  give  all  up  to  be  discharged,  and  more. 

"  Another  affair  comes  under  my  notice,  but  shall  only 
touch  slightly  on  it,  and  [it]  has  been  hinted  to  me  also 
[by  other  persons]  that  think  as  the  Delaware  State  is  to 
furnish  a  quota  of  troops  at  the  expiration  of  our  time, 
whether  it  would  not  be  proper  for  you  to  send  some  orders 
to  recruit  [the  discharged  soldiers]  at  £7. 10  in  cash  to  each 
man,  and  perhaps  some  scheme  might  be  adopted  to  make 
one  battalion  out  of  both ;  there  is  a  difficulty,  as  one's 
[term  of  service]  is  out  a  month  sooner  than  the  other, — 
and  officers  hard  to  determine.  This  to  your  better  judg 
ment. 

ik  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  Colonel  Bedford  got  wounded 
in  a  late  engagement.  1  am  told  [the  wound]  is  slight. 

"The  [enemy]  advance  on  us,  but  very  slow[ly]  yet. 
The  sending  up  troops  for  the  '  flying  camp'  is  absurd.  As 
such  some  arrived  to-day  from  Maryland  to  stay  to  Decem 
ber,  unarmed.  No  arms  here. 

"  My  best  compliments  to  all  my  friends.  I  am,  dear 
sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"  I  have  some  noble  officers  in  my  battalion  I  could  re 
commend  if  a  door  open. — S.  P. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  favored  by  Rev.  Mr.  Eakin." 

A  false  report,  but  not  without  foundation,  that  Congress 
had  ordered  troops  to  Lewistown,  no  application  for  them 
having  been  made  by  the  President  or  Legislature  of  Dela 
ware,  then  in  session,  occasioned  the  following  letters  of 
Mr.  Read  and  Robert  Morris  : 

"NEW  CASTLE,  5th  November,  1776. 

"  SIR, — A  report  prevails  here,  this  morning,  that  Con 
gress  have  ordered  four  companies  of  one  of  the  Virginia 
battalions  to  Lewistown,  on  some  intelligence  supposed  to 
have  been  transmitted  by  Henry  Fisher  to  the  Council 
of  Safety  of  your  Province.  Upon  inquiry  I  find  that  Mr. 
Rush,  Secretary  to  the  President,  told  the  under-sheriff  of 
this  county  so  yesterday  morning.  I  must  own  I  can  with 
difficulty  believe  that  Congress  would  take  a  step  of  this 
kind,  upon  any  application  other  than  from  the  legislative 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  213 

or  executive  bodies  of  this  State,  especially  as  the  Congress 
must  know  that  the  General  Assembly  is  now  sitting  at 
New  Castle,  who,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  are  the  best  judges 
of  the  necessity  or  propriety  of  such  a  measure;  but  if  such 
is  the  fact,  take  fiie  most  speedy  way  to  prevent  its  being 
carried  into  execution,  otherwise  it  may  be  attended  with 
bad  consequences,  as  I  well  know  the  Legislature  of  this 
State  will  look  upon  it  as  an  ill-tirned  interference  with 
their  internal  affairs.  As  to  Harry  Fisher,  he  may  be  quali 
fied  for  the  post  assigned  him  by  your  Council  of  Safety, 
and  they  may  give  him  what  credit  they  think  fit  in  that 
line,  but  they  ought  to  be  careful  of  giving  credit  to  his 
intelligence  of  the  political  conduct  or  sentiments  of  the 
people  of  Sussex  or  any  other  county  in  this  government. 
More  injury  to  the  common  cause  was  done  by  sending 
down  the  rifle  battalion  of  your  province  last  summer  than 
most  people  are  aware  of.  I  would  not  have  it  increased 
by  a  repetition  of  insult.  Let  me  hear  from  you  by  the 
messenger,  who  is  sent  for  the  purpose,  and  you  will  oblige 
yours,  etc., 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  To  the  Honorable  ROBERT  MORRIS,  Philadelphia." 

It  is  evident  from  Mr.  Read's  letter  that  these  troops 
were  to  be  sent  to  overawe  citizens  of  Sussex^  disaffected  to 
Congress.  I  am,  therefore,  not  surprised  at  the  indignation 
excited  by  the  report  that  troops  were  to  be  ordered  there 
for  such  purpose,  upon  the  representation  merely  of  an 
individual. 

Mr.  Morris  replied  promptly  to  Mr.  Read's  letter: 

''PHILADELPHIA,  November  6th,  17T6. 

"DEAR  SIR, — You  will  not  wonder  that  I  should  be 
obliged  to  answer  your  favor  of  the  5th  instant  in  a  great 
hurry,  after  detaining  the  bearer  some  time  before  I  could 
even  sit  down  to  write. 

"It  seems  there  is  some  foundation  for  the  report  you 
heard,  although  not  strictly  true.  I  was  not  in  Congress 
when  Dr.  Rush  brought  the  account  from  the  Council  of 
Safety,  but  am  told,  he  moved  for  some  Continental  troops 
being  ordered  down,  which  was  opposed  by  several  members 
upon  the  very  principles  you  would  wish,  and  finally  the 


214  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

motion  was  rejected;  but  as  a  Virginia  regiment  was  ordered 
up  from  the  Eastern  Shore,  they  were  directed  to  halt  at 
Dover  for  the  further  orders  of  Congress,  on  the  supposition 
that  your  government  would  apply  for  them  if  they  should 
think  it  necessary. 

"This  I  believe  to  be  the  true  state  of  facts,  and  as  my 
sentiments  are  totally  with  you,  I  am  ready  to  obey  your 
commands,  or  do  anything  you  desire,  if  in  my  power; 
being  very  sincerely,  dear  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"ROBERT  MORRIS. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

The  next  letter  in  the  order  of  their  dates,  I  find  among 
Mr.  Read's  papers,  is  from  General  Rodney. 

"November  17th,  1776. 

"SiR, — At  the  request  of  the  members  of  the  Council 
and  Assembly,  delivered  me  by  Mr.  Collins,  I  sent,  to  the 
care  of  Thomas  McKean,  Esq.,  in  Philadelphia,  by  John 
Palmer,  shallopman,  sixty  blankets,  and  all  the  cloths  of 
any  kind  whatsoever  that  I  could  procure  here  suitable  for 
the  Delaware  battalion.  They  were  packed  in  hogsheads, 
and  accompanied  with  a  letter  to  Mr.  McKean.  But  as 
the  collectors  of  those  articles  had  not  made  me  their  re 
turns  in  proper  order,  [I]  could  not  send  him  the  invoice 
and  account  of  them.  1  have  now  inclosed  you  a  general 
account  of  them,  and  the  charges  thereon,  all  of  which  I 
have  presently  charged  to  this  State,  as  directed  by  Mr. 
Collins. 

"On  Monday,  the  4th  of  this  month,  one  George  Gibson 
(who  says  he  is  a  captain  in  the  First  Virginia  Regiment, 
was  sent  by  the  State  of  Virginia  and  General  Lee  on  an 
expedition  to  New  Orleans,  and  was  passing  through  here 
with  letters  from  the  Governor  of  that  place  to  Congress) 
applied  to  me  to  assist  him  with  horses,  and  a  small  matter 
of  cash.  I  procured  horses  to  send  him  part  of  the  way, 
let  him  have  six  pounds, — which  was  all  he  asked, — and 
have  inclosed  you  his  receipt  for  it.*  As  the  money  was 

*  Inclosed  in  Mr.  Rodney's  letter  is  the  following  note : 
"  Captain    Gibson   presents   his   compliments   to    General    Rodney. 
When  he  applied  to  him  for  horses,  for  prosecuting  his  journey  towards 
head-quarters,  he  forgot  to  request  the  favor  of  an  article  of  equal  im- 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  215 

advanced  for  the  public  service,  [I]  should  be  obliged  to 
you  to  procure  it  again  for  me.  Before  I  let  him  have  the 
money  he  showed  me  his  credentials,  signed  by  Mr.  Pendle- 
ton,  and  many  other  gentlemen  of  note,  in  Virginia.  Yes 
terday  and  the  day  before  I  received  two  letters  from 
General  McKinley,  by  express,  with  copies  of  other  letters 
inclosed,  informing  that  a  great  number  of  vessels  had  sailed 
from  New  York,  [and]  that  it  was  expected  they  intended 
up  Delaware  to  pay  Philadelphia  a  visit.  On  the  receipt 
of  this  piece  of  intelligence,  I  immediately  issued  and  sent 
orders  to  all  the  field-officers  in  this  and  Sussex  County,  to 
see  that  their  several  battalions  were  immediately  prepared, 
with  their  arms,  accoutrements,  etc.,  [to  move]  when  and 
where  they  should  receive  orders  for  that  purpose.  This  I 
did  in  discharge  of  my  duty  as  commanding  officer;  but, 
between  you  and  I,  I  no  more  believe  they  are  coming,  at 
this  season  of  the  year,  to  attack  Philadelphia  than  I  be 
lieve  they  intend  besieging  the  moon.  I  am  much  pleased 
to  find,  by  the  postscript  of  Mr.  Hancock's  letter,  that 
General  Carleton,  with  all  his  forces,  has  retreated.  When 
ever  you  have  anything,  either  public  or  private,  worth 
while  and  proper  to  communicate  to  me,  and  be  fortunate 
enough  to  steer  clear  of  those  violent  lazy  fits  that  some 
times  seize  you,  [I]  should  be  much  obliged  to  you  to  let  me 
have  it.  I  am,  sir,  with  much  respect,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

"(LESAR  RODNEY. 
'•  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Read  was  invoked  to  exert  his  influence  to  induce 
the  immediate  march  of  volunteers  from  Delaware  to  aid 
in  the  defence  of  Philadelphia  against  the  apprehended 
attack  of  the  British,  by  Messrs.  Wilson,  Clymer,  and  Chase 
in  their  letter,  dated 


portance — cash.  Would  it  be  convenient  for  General  Rodney  to  let 
him  have  about  five  or  six  pounds,  Continental  currency  ?  If  it  would, 
he  will  esteem  it  a  particular  favor,  and  a  very  essential  one. 

"MONDAY,  November,  1776. 

"  Received  of  General  Rodney  six  pounds  Continental  currency. 

"  GEORGE  GIBSON, 
"Captain,  First  Virginia  Regiment,  on  particular  commission." 


216  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"PHILADELPHIA,  November  25th,  1776. 

"SiR, — The  inclosed  resolutions*  will  inform  you  of  the 
steps  adopted  in  this  State  for  the  immediate  reinforcement 
of  the  army  under  the  command  of  General  Washington. 
We  wish  for  assistance  from  the  State  of  Delaware,  and 
cannot  doubt  their  alacrity  in  furnishing  every  aid  in  their 
power  in  this  hour  of  common  danger. 

"We  know  not  to  whom  our  application  ought  to  be 
made,  but  we  earnestly  entreat  your  influence  and  exertions 
with  the  proper  authority  of  your  State  to  send  a  speedy 
assistance  of  five  hundred  volunteers,  if  possible,  on  the 
same  terms  and  times  of  service  with  the  volunteers  from 
this  State. 

"  We  are,  sir,  with  great  regard,  your  obedient,  humble 
servants, 

"JAMES  WILSON, 
"GEORGE  CLYMER, 
"  SAMUEL  CHASE. 
"Honorable  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

The  letter  I  next  present  to  the  reader  is  the  last  of 
Samuel  Patterson's  letters,  written  to  Mr.  Read  during  his 
service  with  the  "flying  camp."  He  was,  as  I  judge  him 
by  his  letters,  a  spirited  and  brave  officer,  an  ardent  Whig 
of  respectable  abilities,  and  limited  education,  and  of  quick 
temper. 

"BRUNSWICK,  November  30th,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Yesterday  morning  I  had  orders  from  Lord 
Sterling  to  evacuate  my  post  at  Amboy  with  the  troops 
there — about  five  hundred  men — and  the  remainder  of  the 
stores,  cattle,  etc.,  and  to  join  him  about  three  miles  off. 
This  I  did  by  sunrise,  and  then  proceeded,  with  the  main 
body,  to  Brunswick,  where  we  arrived  about  two  o'clock — 
in  the  whole  about  nine  thousand  men,  with  a  good  train. 
But  this  place  is  miserably  dirty — no  entertainment.  Many 
of  our  men  lay  out  without  even  tents — most  distressing  to 
the  campaign  and  future  success  of  recruiting.  Our  men 
[are]  many  of  them  sick,  [with]  hardly  a  place  to  put  their 
heads  in.  Here  are  Generals  Washington,  Putnam,  Mercer, 
Green,  Stevens,  and  Beal,  with  their  brigades.  General 

*  Published  in  all  the  newspapers. 


OF  GEOEGE   EEAD.  217 

Washington  has  wanted  the  ' flying  camp'  to  stay  two 
weeks,  but  such  proposal  will  not  do  with  any.  I  do  not 
much  wonder  at  this,  as  [the  men  are  almost  naked,  with] 
no  place  many  times  to  put  their  heads  in.  We  must  do 
better  for  the  future,  or  give  up  our  army. 

"As  to  General  Howe,  [by]  last  accounts  he  was  at  Eliza 
beth  town,  and  that  yesterday.  This  day  I  think  he  will 
be  at  Amboy,  and,  if  you  will  have  my  opinion,  I  don't 
think  he  will  advance  farther  this  winter,  as  the  rains  pre 
vent  him  now  and  [the]  badness  of  roads.  If  [he  should 
have]  good  weather,  it  is  my  opinion  he  will  not  go  any 
way  towards  Philadelphia,  but  through  [the]  Jerseys,  which 
there  is  nothing  to  hinder  him  [from  doing,]  and  [if  he  have 
also]  good  roads.  Was  I  in  Philadelphia,  and  an  inhab 
itant,  I  should  remain,  in  my  opinion,  secure  this  winter. 
Colonel  Bedford  is  here,  very  poorly,  but  I  think  mending; 
[his  disease]  is  pleurisy.  I  shall  set  off  in  the  morning  for 
your  city. 

"I  am,  in  haste,  yours,  etc., 

"SAMUEL  PATTERSON. 

"As  to  General  Lee,  [there  is]  no  certainty,  but  suppose 
he  is  coining  this  way,  as  what  kept  him  was  to  attack 
Rogers.  By  report  Rogers  escaped  him ;  if  so;  he  will  soon 
be  here. — S.  P. 

"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esq.,  at  Congress." 

The  gratifying  intelligence  that  many  of  the  Delaware 
militia  discovered  "a  noble  ardor  to  aid  in  the  defence  of 
Philadelphia"  was  communicated  to  Mr.  Read  by  General 
McKinley  in  his  letter  from 

"WILMINGTON,  4th  December,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Last  Monday  the  Council  of  Safety  of  this 
countv  met  here,  before  whom  I  laid  the  letters,  of  which 
the  inclosed  are  copies,  who  were  unanimously  of  opinion 
that  the  same  should  be  referred  to  the  whole  Council  for 
this  State,  and  for  that  and  other  purposes  the  members 
should  be  notified  to  meet  next  Monday,  being  the  9th 
instant,  at  the  town  of  Dover,  and  an  express  was  sent  off 
very  early  yesterday  morning  to  notify  them  accordingly 
of  this  proceeding.  I  wrote  to  the  gentlemen  who  ad 
dressed  themselves  to  you,  James  Wilson,  etc.,  and  sent 
my  letter  by  a  gentleman  traveller  yesterday  morning,  but 

15 


218  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

lest  it  might  miscarry,  please  to  inform  them  thereof. 
Many  of  the  militia  in  this  place  and  around  have  dis 
covered  a  noble  ardor  to  go  and  assist,  as  far  as  in  their 
power,  their  brethren  of  Philadelphia,  but  will  not  enter 
for  the  time  proposed  by  the  Committee.  Some  proposed 
that  I  should  issue  orders,  calling  forth  the  militia  to  march, 
but  this  I  could  not  in  the  present  case  apprehend  that  I 
could  properly  do,  or  that  I  could  answer  for  the  charges 
and  consequences  that  might  accrue;  so  I  thought  it  better 
to  defer  any  such  orders  until  the  General  Council  have 
inet,  but  in  the  mean  time  to  renew  my  orders  for  the 
militia  to  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  march  at  an  hour's 
notice.  Pray  write  as  speedily  as  possible  the  state  of 
affairs,  as  nearly  as  you  can  understand,  with  respect  to  the 
situation  and  circumstances,  etc.  of  both  armies,  and  your 
advice  as  to  our  proceedings,  which  the  Council  would  be 
extremely  glad  to  have.  Pray  excuse  haste,  as  I  have 
scarcely  leisure  to  read  this  scrawl  over. 

"I  am,  with  sincere  regard,  dear  sir, 

"Yours  affectionately, 

"JNO.   McKlNLEY. 

"To  the  Hon.  GEORGE  READ,  Esq.,  Philadelphia,  per  favor 
of  Mr.  Edward  Gyles." 

General  McKinley  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Read,  on  the  sub 
ject  of  his  letter  sent  by  Mr.  Gyles,  on  the  same  day. 

"WILMINGTON,  December  4th,  1776. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  was  favored  with  yours  of  yesterday,  a 
very  short  time  after  I  had  written  a  few  lines  to  you  this 
morning,  and  delivered  them  to  Mr.  Gyles. — therein  I  per 
ceive  that  you  recommend  the  marching  of  the  militia  from 
•this  State  even  in  single  companies,  which  will  greatly 
encourage  them,  and  will  be  properly  attended  to.  I  shall 
immediately  order  them  to  get  in  readiness  in  this  county, 
and  hope  to  have  the  concurrence  of  the  General  Council  in 
ordering  them  to  march,  which  I  expect  will  be  done 
shortly.  Pray  write  me  as  frequently  as  possible.  I  write 
this  at  your  house.  Mrs.  Read  and  family  are  very  well, 
and  desire  their  love  to  you. 

"  I  am  yours  sincerely, 

"  JOHN  McKiNLEY. 

"To  the  Hon.  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Philadelphia,  fa 
vored  by  Mr.  Gyles." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  219 

Mr.  Read,  it  appears  by  the  last  of  Mr.  McKinley's  letters, 
had  a  house  then  in  Wilmington.  He  wrote  to  Mrs.  Read 
from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  6th  December,  1716. 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  Attendance  night  and  morning  at  com 
mittees,  and  all  day  at  Congress,  puts  it  out  of  my  power 
to  write  to  you  so  frequently  as  I  ought,  and  have  had  op 
portunities,  but- 1  have  no  chance  of  a  moment  but  when  I 
retire  out  of  Congress  to  the  Committee-Room,  where  I  now 
am,  to  write  to  any  person ;  however,  be  assured  if  any 
[thing]  very  material  occurs  you  shall  hear  it.  General 
Washington,  in  his  letter  of  yesterday,  mentions  the  enemy's 
being  at  Brunswick,  and  Lord  Sterling,  with  two  brigades, 
consisting  [of]  1200  men,  including  the  Delaware  battalion, 
at  Princeton,  about  fifteen  miles  apart, — that  General  Mer 
cer  has  marched  back  1200  men  from  Trenton  to  Princeton 
as  a  reinforcement,  and  General  Washington  is  to  follow 
this  day.  General  Lee  is  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood, 
but  where  particularly,  or  [with]  what  force,  is  not  pre 
cisely  known.  The  German  battalion  belonging  to  the 
continent,  with  the  city  militia,  have  marched  from  here — 
supposed  more  than  3000.  I  have  little  doubt  that  the 
progress  of  the  British  army  will  be  stopped — if  no  more. 
The  troops  belonging  to  the  '  flying  camp/  whose  term  of 
enlistment  had  expired,  left  the  general  in  whole  brigades, 
— particularly  Jersey  and  Maryland, — as  also  Colonel  Pat 
terson's  battalion — they  would  [not]  serve  an  hour  longer, 
so  that  the  city  is  filled  with  the  returning  soldiers,  though 
never  more  needed  in  the  field.  The  Delegates  of  Mary 
land,  with  General  Mifflin,  harangued  a  great  number,  per 
haps  six  or  seven  hundred  of  them,  in  the  State  House  yard 
yesterday  with  success,  and  it  is  expected  a  great  part  will 

.return  for  a  month.     G Gurney  told  me,  as  I  carne  by 

to  Congress,  that  she  had  thoughts  still  of  going  down  to 
you;  she  is  presently  engaged  n  preparing  their  house  in 
town  for  Messrs.  Tilghman  and  Carroll,  of  Maryland,  who 
are  to  go  into  it.  Bedford  came  to  town  Tuesday  evening, 
— he  is  mending.  Tom  Read  inarched  last  evening.  Jemmy 
Read  goes  this  evening ;  his  company  went  yesterday.  Gen 
eral  Thompson  is  still  with  us.  I  am  satisfied  you  will  not 
be  disturbed  in  your  quarters  this  season,  therefore  make 
yourself  easy,  and  kiss  our  little  ones.  I  know  not  when  I 


220  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

may  see  you.  I  cannot  stir,  for  the  non-attendance  of  our 
representatives  for  times  past  has  been  severely  animad 
verted  upon  since  my  return. 

"  I  am  yours  most  affectionately, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  Mrs.  GERTRUDE  READ." 

General  McKinley  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Read  on  the  subject 
of  the  reinforcement  of  the  American  army  by  militia  from 
Delaware. 

"  WILMINGTON,  7th  December,  1176. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — In  consequence  of  your  letters,  orders  have 
been  issued  to  the  commanding  officers  of  the  several  com 
panies  of  the  first  battalion,  as  likewise  to  the  commanding 
officers  of  the  second  battalion,  of  militia  in  this  county,  to 
procure  as  many  of  those  who  are  under  their  respective 
commands  [as  they  can],  to^)rovide  themselves  with  every 
thing  necessary,  and  to  be  ready  to  march  to  reinforce  the 
army  under  General  Washington  as  speedily  as  possible. 
Many  have  shown  much  alacrity,  and,  in  particular,  a  com 
pany  of  the  militia  in  this  place  are  ready  to  march,  but 
hearing  that  the  English  army  has  not  been  farther  than 
Brunswick,  and  are  now  retreating,  and  that  General  Lee 
hath  joined  General  Washington,  with  a  considerable  army, 
and  the  militia  not  being  willing  to  comply  with  the  terms 
of  the  only  requisition  made  by  proper  authority  of  con 
tinuing  in  service  [from]  this  [time  to]  the  10th  of  March 
next,  and  no  provision  for  pay  or  other  necessary  supplies 
is  mentioned  to  us,  what  is  to  be  done?  The  militia  would, 
I  am  persuaded,  readily  go  to  the  immediate  defence  of 
Philadelphia  at  all  events,  but  they  object  to  march  farther 
on  the  terms  proposed.  By  whom  are  they  to  be  paid  and 
subsisted  is  what  they  require  to  know.  The  Council  of 
Safety  for  this  county  meet  here  this  day,  and  the  General 
Council  at  Dover  on  Monday.  The  bearer  will  deliver  you 
£225  for  the  salt  purchased  by  Captain  Grantham.  The 
owners  had  actually  agreed  with  Mr.  Aaron  Musgrave,  of 
this  place,  for  twenty  shillings  per  bushel;  though  they 
afterwards  charged  Captain  Grantham  twenty-two  shillings 
and  sixpence.  Pray  write  me  frequently,  and  excuse  haste. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  221 

I  am,  very  sincerely,  dear  sir,  your  affectionate,  humble 
servant, 

"  JOHN  McKiNLEY.* 

"  To  the  Hon.  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Philadelphia,  per 
the  favor  of  Mr.  Molis  Patterson." 

The  last  letter  I  find  among  Mr.  Read's  papers  upon  the 
all-absorbing  subject,  in  December,  1776,  the  reinforcement 
of  General  Washington's  army  to  cover  Philadelphia,  is 
from  Thomas  Duff,  marching  to  join  his  army. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  December  16tb,  1776. 

"WORTHY  SIR, — I  make  bold  to  acquaint  you  that  we 
arrived  here  next  day  after  our  departure  from  Wilmington, 
and  [that]  on  our  way  [we]  met  General  Minim  at  Chester, 
who  received  us  kindly;  at  which  time  there  were  two  ves 
sels  at  Chester  with  salt,  bought  by  some  Tories  from 
Jersey.  We  stopped  one,  and  sent  the  salt  to  Philadelphia, 
and  the  other  was  under  sail,  but  followed  by  a  vessel 
which  overtook  her,  etc. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  hear  that  our  Brigadier  McKinley  should 
discourage  the  men  from  marching.  Captain  Craighead's 
men,  whom  we  sent  for,  and  who  were  on  their  way  to  us, 
were,  it  seems,  sent  home  by  him,  saying,  'they  need  not 
proceed  without  they  pleased,'  etc.  This,  you  must  know, 
was  told  me  by  the  guard  sent  for  them,  and  had  such 

*  Conjecturing  from  his  name  that  President  McKinley  was  of 
Scotch  or  Scotch-Irish  extraction,  and  was  a  Presbyterian,  and  interred 
in  the  Presbyterian  burying-ground  in  Wilmington,  where  he  resided,  I 
lately*  searched  there  for  his  grave,  and  found  it  covered  by  a  mas 
sive  marble  slab,  bearing  the  following  inscription,  which,  though  sixty 
years  had  elapsed  since  his  death,  I  copied  without  difficulty: 

"  This  monument  is  erected  in  memory  of  John  McKinley,  M.D.,  who 
was  born  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  on  the  24th  February,  1721,  and 
died,  in  this  town,  on  the  31st  August,  179G. 

"  He  settled  early  in  life  in  this  county,  and  pursuing  the  practice  of 
physic,  soon  became  eminent  in  his  profession. 

"  He  served  in  several  important  public  employments,  and,  particu 
larly,  was  the  first  person  who  filled  the  office  of  President  of  the  State 
after  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 

"  He  died  full  of  years,  having  passed  a  long  life,  usefully  to  the  pub 
lic,  and  honorably  to  himself." 


August  28th,  1856. 


222  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

influence  that  some  of  the  guard,  as  well  as  ten  of  Captain 
Craighead's  men,  turned  back  immediately,  so  that  his 
company  is  reduced  to  a  few,  in  so  much  that  they  who  are 
here  of  his  company  are  almost  discouraged.  And  further, 
sir,  I  am  ashamed  that  so  few  men  from  our  State  have  ap 
peared  here  as  yet,  which  astonishes  the  officers  and  gentle 
men  here  very  much,  as  they  always  expected  something 
clever  from  our  militia.  I  make  what  defence  I  can  for  the 
brigadier,  but  I  am  afraid  the  backwardness  which  seems 
to  be  shown  by  him  and  some  others,  on  this  alarming 
occasion,  will  grow  here,  as  people  seem  to  know  everywhere 
of  the  transactions  below. 

"We  thank  you,  sir,  for  your  friendship  and  assistance, 
which  we  account  preferable  to  all  that  has  been  done  for 
us.  We  have  not  made  use  of  your  order  as  yet,  not  know 
ing  how  matters  may  yet  be  fixed,  [and]  we  would  choose 
to  act  with  credit.  [I]  am,  in  haste,  your  most  obedient, 
humble  servant, 

"THOMAS  DUFF. 

"I  sent  your  letter  to  camp  this  day  by  Mr.  Robert 
Curry. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  in  Wilming 
ton,  favored  by  Lieutenant  Garrett." 

These  charges  may  be  unfounded,  but  they  have  some 
support,  it  seems  to  me,  from  the  caution,  bordering  upon 
timidity,  manifested  by  the  foregoing  letters  of  General 
McKinley  in  an  emergency  demanding  prompt  decision  and 
action,  and  the  unhesitating  assumption  of  responsibility 
from  which  he  appears  to  have  shrunk.  He  must  have 
been  soon  after  elected  President  of  Delaware,  for  he  held 
this  office  when  taken  prisoner  by  the  British,  in  September, 
1777,  soon  after  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine. 

The  last  of  the  letters,  addressed  to  Mr.  Read,  in  1776, 
which  I  find  among  his  papers,  is  from  his  friend  Mr. 
Evans,  in  reply  to  his  letter  communicating  the  welcome 
intelligence  of  General  Washington's  daring  attack  on  the 
enemy  at  Trenton,  and  its  brilliant  success. 

"  December  29th,  1776. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  received  yours  of  yesterday,  and  upon 
reading  the  contents,  it  gives  me  real  satisfaction  to  hear 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  223 

of  the  success  of  General  Washington's  army,  which  was 
related  nearly  in  the  same  terms  by  Mr.  Joseph  Carson, 
who  came  from  Philadelphia  yesterday  into  our  neighbor 
hood.  I  hope  it  is  the  happy  prelude  to  better  times,  for  a 
few  such  attacks  will  have  the  happy  tendency  to  animate 
those  who  were  dispirited  from  the  incursions  the  enemy 
had  made  in  the  Jersey.  If  this  lucky  event  is  improved 
(which  I  make  no  doubt  it  will  be)  our  affairs  will,  I  hope, 
soon  put  on  a  very  different  appearance. 

"I  this  moment  received  a  letter  from  my  brother  George, 
who  informs  me  that  General  Heath  attacked  Hackensack 
with  success;  in  which  [attack]  he  took  130  prisoners,  and 
a  great  quantity  of  plunder  carried  there  by  the  English 
army.  I  approve  of  your  not  going  to  Baltimore*  until 
your  General  Assembly  have  met,  as  some  general  regula 
tions  may  point  out  themselves  as  absolutely  necessary  to  be 
done,  and  I  am  convinced  the  members  will  expect  your 
aid.  I  should  be  glad  we  had  a  representation  in  Congress, 
but  under  your  particular  circumstances  make  no  doubt  you 
will  stand  excused  for  not  appearing  in  Congress  earlier,  as 
the  business  of  the  government  was  deferred  over,  at  the 
last  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly,  to  this  time,  and  the 
people  will  expect  something  to  be  done,  or  grow  very  un 
easy,  the  more  especially  if  our  affairs  should  take  a  happy 
turn  in  our  favor,  which  the  news  of  the  day  seems  to  give 
great  reason  to  hope  for;  or  should  we  be  disappointed  in 
our  sanguine  expectations  from  General  Washington's  suc 
cess  at  Trenton,  yet,  upon  the  return  of  the  militia,  they 
will  be  very  urgent  to  have  a  militia  law  established  for 
the  recovery  of  the  fines  of  the  non-associators,  and  they 
will  think  themselves  the  more  entitled  to  such  an  act  now 
as  many  of  the  associators  have  been  in  the  service  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  I  hope  you  will  excuse  my  remarks, 
and  attribute  them  to  the  constant  wish  I  have  to  see  our 
internal  peace  flourish,  and  the  confidence  of  the  people 
established  in  their  representatives. 

"I  am  a  little  easier  at  present  from  my  disorder  than  I 
have  been  for  some  days  past.  My  compliments  to  Mrs. 


*  Congress,  being  insecure  from  the  advance  of  the  British  at  Phila 
delphia,  had  adjourned  to  Baltimore. 


224  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Read;  and  I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  friend  and  hum 
ble  servant, 

"JOHN  EVANS. 

"To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Wilmington,  per  Captain 
Samuel  Evans." 

The  condition  of  America  seemed  desperate.  New  Jersey 
appeared  subjugated,  neutrals  were  declaring  forthe  royalist 
party,  thousands  of  timid  friends  of  independence  in  the 
Middle  States  were  ready  to  save  their  lives  and  property 
by  unqualified  submission,  recruiting  was  at  an  end,  the 
soldiers,  as  their  terms  of  service  expired,  left  the  American 
standard,  and  the  exulting  Tories  were  confident  that  the 
rebel  Washington  would  soon  be  a  general  without  an  army, 
and  a  fugitive  beyond  the  Alleghany,  should  he  escape  the 
just  doom  of  his  treason.  The  brilliant  success  at  Trenton 
dispelled  the  deep  and  general  despondency  of  the  Ameri 
cans,  and  the  eventful  year  1776  closed  upon  them,  more 
resolved  than  before  to  maintain  the  independence  they 
had  declared,  and  again  hopeful  of  success. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  225 


APPENDICES    TO   CHAPTER    III. 


I  WAS  not  aware  of  the  instructions  to  the  Delaware  delegates  in 
the  Continental  Congress,  of  June  14th,  1770,  until  having  been  referred 
to  volume  9th  of  the  "Writings  of  John  Adams,"  page  398,  I  found 
there  the  following  statement  in  his  letter  of  June  14th,  1770,  to  Samuel 
Chase : 

"  McKean  has  returned  from  the  '  Lower  Counties'  with  full  powers. 
Their  instructions  are  in  the  same  words  with  the  new  ones  to  the  dele 
gates  of  Pennsylvania.  New  Jersey  has  dethroned  Franklin,  and  in  a 
letter  which  has  just  come  to  my  hand,  from  indisputable  authority,  I 
am  told  that  the  delegates  from  that  colony  will  vote  plump.  Maryland 
now  stands  alone.  I  presume  she  will  soon  join  company ;  if  not,  she 
must  be  left  alone." 

After  careful  examination  of  the  Journal  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
A.D.  1770,  I  failed  to  find  these  instructions  there,  while  those  of  New 
Jersey  and  Maryland,  empowering  their  delegates  in  that  body  to  vote 
for  independence,  appeared  pages  224,  225,  220,  and  a  resolution  of  the 
New  York  Convention,  approving  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
page  250.  Doubt  was  therefore  caused  of  the  accuracy  of  Mr.  Adams's 
statement,  to  test  which  I  endeavored  unsuccessfully  to  find  the  Journal 
of  the  session  of  the  Delaware  Assembly  that  gave,  it  was  alleged,  these 
instructions.  They  were,  however,  discovered  in  the  "Pennsylvania 
Journal  and  Weekly  Advertiser"  of  June  19th,  1770,  by  the  Honorable 
John  M.  Read,  who  favored  me  with  a  copy  of  them.  Chancellor  Har 
rington  examined  a  collection  of  journals  of  the  Delaware  Legislature 
he  had  previously  given  to  gentlemen  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  but 
they  were  posterior  to  1770.  He  also  sought  for  this  journal  in  Dover, 
and  H.  F.  Rodney  in  Sussex,  without  success.  James  R.  Booth,  Es 
quire,  grandson  of  James  Booth,  Clerk  of  the  Delaware  Assembly,  and 
afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  of  this  State, 
put  into  my  hand  several  journals  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Dela 
ware,  in  manuscript,  but,  though  of  years  immediately  before  and  after 
1770,  the  one  I  sought  was  not  among  them,  and  I  fear  it  is  not  extant 
in  Delaware.  I  am  much  indebted  to  these  gentlemen  for  their  kind  and 
ready  aid  in  this  search. 


226  LIFE  -AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


IB. 

ARGUMENTS  FOR  AND  AGAINST  THE  DECLARATION  OF 
INDEPENDENCE. 

IN  CONGRESS,  Friday,  June  7th,  1776. 

The  Virginia  delegates,  in  obedience  to  instructions  from  their  con 
stituents,  moved  that  Congress  should  declare  that  the  "  United  Col 
onies"  are,  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  independent  States.  This 
proposition  was  debated  in  committee  of  the  whole  on  the  8th  and  10th 
days  of  June. 

It  was  argued  by  James  Wilson,  R.  R.  Livingston,  E.  Rutledge,  and 
others. 

That  though  friends  to  the  proposition,  and  convinced  of  the  impos 
sibility  of  the  colonies  ever 'being  again  united  to  Britain,  they  were 
opposed  to  the  adoption  of  it, — 

1.  Because  it  was  not  wise  to  take  this  capital  step  till  the  voice  of 
the  people  drove  Congress  to  it ;  the  people  were  their  power,  and  with 
out  them  such  "Declaration"  could  not  be  carried  into  effect. 

2.  The  people  of  the  middle  colonies  were  not  yet  ripe  for  this  De 
claration,  and  soon  would  join  in  the  general  voice'of  America. 

3.  The  ferment  caused  by  the  resolution  of  Congress  suppressing  the 
exercise  of  all  power  derived  from  the  crown,  in  the  middle  colonies, 
showed  that  they  were  not  yet  prepared  for  separation  from  Britain. 

4.  That  some  of  them  had  expressly  forbidden  their  delegates   to 
consent  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  others  had  given  no 
instructions,  and  consequently  no  powers  to  consent  to  it. 

5.  That  if  the  delegates  of  a  colony  could  not  declare  it  independent, 
other  colonies  could  not  declare  it  for  them,  the  colonies  being  as  yet 
perfectly  independent  of  each  other. 

6.  That  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  was  then  sitting,  its   Con 
vention  would  soon  sit,  the  Convention  of  New  York  was  then  sitting, 
and  the  Assemblies  or  Conventions  of  Jersey  and  Delaware  woufd 
meet  on  the  Monday  following,  and  it  was  probable  these  bodies  would 
take  up  the  question  of  independence,  and  declare  to  their  delegates  the 
voice  of  their  States. 

7.  That  if   such    "  Declaration"  should   now  be  agreed   upon,  the 
delegates  of  the  colonies  just  mentioned  must  retire,  and  possibly  their 
colonies  secede  from  the  union,  and  secession  weaken  us  more  than  we 
would  be  strengthened  by  any  foreign  alliance. 

8.  That  in  the  event  of  such  a  division,  foreign  powers  would  refuse 
to  join  us,  or,  taking  advantage  of  our  desperate  situation,  would  impose 
hard  terms. 

9.  That  there  was  little  reason  to  hope  for  an  alliance  with  France 
and  Spain,  to  whom  we  were  looking. 

10.  That  France  and  Spain  had  reason  to  be  jealous  of  us  as  a  rising 
power,  who  would   certainly  one  day  strip  them  of  their  American 
possessions,  and  were  more  likely  to  form  a  connection  with  Great 
Britain,  who,  if  they  should   find  themselves   unable  to   subdue  us, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  227 

would,  to  recover  these  colonies,  restore  Canada  to  France  and  Florida 
to  Spain. 

11.  That  there  would  soon  be  certain  information  of  the  disposition 
of  the  French   court  from  our    agent,  sent  expressly  to   ascertain  it, 
and  by  awaiting  the  issue  of  the  present  campaign,  which  all  hoped 
would  be  favorable,  an  alliance  with  this  power  might  be  had  on  better 
terms  than  at  present,  and  to  such  aid  postponing  the  "Declaration" 
would  work  no  delay,  for  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  receive  assistance 
this  campaign. 

12.  That  it  was  prudent  to  fix  among  ourselves  the  terms  on  which 
we  would  form  an  alliance  before  we  declared  we  would  form  one,  at  all 
events,  and  if  we  agreed  upon  them  and  had  our  "Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence"  ready  by  the  time  our  ambassador  was  prepared  to  sail,  it 
would  be  as  well  as  to  go  into  a  declaration  of  independence  at  this  day. 

On  the  other  side  it  Avas  urged  by  John  Adams,  Lee,  Wythe,  and 
others, — 

1.  That  no  gentleman  had  argued  against  the  policy  of  separation 
from  Britain  or  supposed  the  renewal  of  our  connection  with  her  pos 
sible. 

2.  That  the  question  was  not  that  we  should  make  ourselves  by  a 
declaration  of  independence  what  we  are  not,  but  whether  we  should 
declare  a  fact  which  already  exists. 

3.  That  as  to  the  people  or  Parliament  of  Great  Britain,  we  had  always 
been  independent  of  them,  their  restraints  on  our  trade  deriving  efficacy 
only  from  our  acquiescence  in  them,  and  not  from  their  right  to  impose 
them  ;  and  so  far  as  our  connection  had  been  federal  only  it  was  dis 
solved  by  the  commencement  of  hostilities. 

4.  That  as  to  the  king,  our  allegiance  to  him  was  dissolved  by  his 
assent  to  the  act  of  Parliament  declaring  us  out  of  his  protection  and. 
levying  war  upon  us,  a  fact  which  proved  us  out  of  his  protection, — that 
these  are  reciprocal,  the  one  ceasing  when  the  other  is  withdrawn. 

5.  That  James  II.  never  declared  the  English  people  out  of  his  pro 
tection,  yet  his  actions  proved  it,  and  the   Parliament  declared  it, — 
therefore 

6.  No  delegate  can  be  denied  or  want  a  power  to  declare  an  existing 
truth. 

7.  That  the  delegates  from  the  Delaware  counties  having  declared 
their  constituents  ready  to  join,  there  are  only  Pennsylvania  and  Mary 
land  whose  delegates  are  absolutely  tied  up,  and  that  these  had  only 
by  their  instructions  reserved  the  right  of  confirming  or  rejecting  the 
measure. 

8.  That  the  instructions  from  Pennsylvania  might  be  accounted  for 
from  the  time  in  which  they  were  drawn,  near  a  year  ago,  since  when 
the  face  of  affairs  had  totally  changed. 

9.  That  since  then  it  was  evident  Britain  would  accept  nothing  but 
carte-blanche. 

10.  That  the  people  wait  for  us  to  lead  the  way,  and  are  in  favor  of 
the  measure,  though  the  instructions  given  by  some  of  their  representa 
tives  are  not,  and  that  the  voice  of  representatives  is  not  always  conso 
nant  with  that  of  the  people,  and  this  is  remarkably  the  case  in  the 
middle  colonies. 

11.  That  the  resolution  of  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates,  of  the 


228  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

15th  of  May.  by  raising  murmurs  against  it  in  Pennsylvania  and 
Maryland,  and  thus  calling  forth  the  voice  of  the  freer  part  of  their 
citizens,  showed  them  to  be  the  majority  even  in  these  colonies. 

12.  That  the  backwardness  of  these  colonies  was  partly  ascribable 
to  proprietary  influence  and  partly  to  their  not  having  been  yet  attacked 
by  the  enemy,  and  the  last  cause  was  not  likely  to  be  soon  removed,  as 
it  was  not  probable  that  the  enemy  would  assail  them  this  summer. 

13.  That  it  would  be  vain  to  wait  for  perfect  unanimity,  since  it  is 
vain  to  expect  all  men  to  be  of  one  sentiment  on  any  question. 

14.  That  the  conduct  of  some  colonies  had  given  reason  to  suspect 
they  meant  to  keep  in  the  rear  of  the  rest  that  their  particular  prospect 
might  be  better  in  the  worst  event,  and  therefore  it  was  necessary  that 
those  colonies  who  had  hazarded  all  from  the  beginning  to  come  for 
ward  and  put  all  again  to  their  own  hazard. 

15.  That  the  history  of  the  Dutch  revolution,  of  whom  three  prov 
inces  only  confederated  at  the  first,  proved  that  the  secession  of  some 
colonies  would  not  be  as  dangerous  as  was  apprehended. 

16.  That  the  declaration  of  independence  alone  could  make  it  consist 
ent  with  European  delicacy  for  European  powers  to  treat  with  us,  or 
even  to  receive  our  ambassadors,  and  that  till  this  they  would  not  receive 
our  vessels  into  their  ports  or  acknowledge  the  adjudications  of  our  ad 
miralty  courts  to  be  legitimate  in  cases  of  captures  of  British  vessels. 

17.  That  if  France  and  Spain  be  jealous  of  our  rising  power,  they 
will  be  much  more  jealous  of  us  if  we  be  connected  with  Great  Britain, 
and  therefore  see  it  their  interest  to  separate  us  from  her ;  but  if  they 
refuse  our  alliance  we  are  only  where  we  are  ;  but  without  trying  we 
shall  never  know  whether  they  will  or  not. 

18.  That  the  present  campaign  maybe  unsuccessful,  and  therefore 
we  had  better  propose  an  alliance  while  our  affairs  are  hopeful. 

19.  That  to  await  the  event  of  the  present  campaign  will  certainly 
work  delay,  because  during  the  summer  France  can  effectually  assist 
us  by  cutting  off  the  supply  of  provisions  from  England  and  Ireland, 
on  which  the  armies  of  England  here  depend,  or  by  putting  in  motion 
her  great  power  in  the  West  Indies  and  calling  our  enemy  to  defend  his 
possessions  there. 

20.  That  it  would  be  idle  to  lose  time  in  settling  the  terms  of  alliance 
before  we  had  determined  to  enter  into  alliance. 

21.  That  we  should  lose  no  time  in  opening  a  trade  for  our  people 
who  will  want  clothes,  and  money  to  pay  taxes. 

22.  That  the  only  misfortune  is  that  we  had  not  entered  into  an  alli 
ance  with  France  six  months  sooner,  as,  besides  opening  her  ports  to  our 
last  year's  produce,  she  might  have  marched  an  army  into  Germany, 
and  prevented  the  petty  princes  there  from  selling  their  unhappy  sub 
jects  to  subdue  us. 

"It  appearing  in  these  debates  that  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Delaware,  and  Maryland  were  not  yet  matured  for  falling  from 
the  parent  stem,  but  were  fast  advancing  to  that  state,  it  was  thought 
prudent  to  wait  awhile  for  them,  and  to  postpone  the  final  decision  to 
July  1st;  but  that  this  might  occasion  as  little  delay  as  possible  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  prepare  '  a  declaration  of  independence,' 
— Jefferson,  John  Adams,  Roger  Sherman,  Robert  R.  Livingston,  and 
Doctor  Franklin." — Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  i.  pp.  12-17. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  229 


o. 

THE  SIGNATURE  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF  INDEPEND 
ENCE. 

THE  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed  July  4th,  1776,  by  all 
present  in  Congress  on  that  day,  except  Mr.  Dickinson. 

The  subsequent  signatures  of  members,  not  then  present,  and  some 
of  them  not  yet  in  office,  is  easily  explained,  if  we  observe  who  they 
were, — to  wit,  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania.  New  York  did  not  sign 
till  the  15th,  because  it  was  not  until  the  9th  her  convention  authorized 
the  signature  of  the  Declaration  by  her  delegates.  The  Pennsylvania 
convention,  learning  that  the  Declaration  had  been  signed  only  by  a 
minority  of  her  delegates,  named  a  new  delegation,  leaving  out  Mr. 
Dickinson,  who  had  refused  to  sign,  and  Willing  and  Humphrey,  who 
had  withdrawn,  and  reappointing  the  three  who  had  signed,  with 
Morris,  who  was  not  present,  and  appointing  five  new  ones,  Rush, 
Clymer,  Smith,  Taylor,  and  Ross.  Morris  and  the  five  new  members 
were  permitted  to  sign,  because  thus  was  manifested  the  assent  of  their 
full  delegation,  which  else  might  have  been  doubted. 

Mr.  Jefferson  did  not  know  why  Thornton,  of  New  Hampshire,  was 
permitted  to  sign  so  late  as  November  4th,  but  adds,  " doubtless  for  a 
sufficient  reason."*  But  Mr.  McKean,  in  his  letter  to  the  editor  of  the 
"Freeman's  Journal"  (16th  June,  1817),  states,  it  was  because  he  was 
not  elected  to  Congress  till  September,  and  did  not  take  his  seat  till  the 
day  he  signed  the  Declaration. — National  Recorder,  vol.  i.  p.  86. 

The  above  named  are  the  only  post  signers  except  Mr.  McKean.  At 
the  foot  of  the  "List  of  Errata"  (vol.  i.  p.  3)  of  the  Laws  of  Delaware, 
edited  by  George  Read,  and  printed  by  John  and  Samuel  Adams  (New 
Castle,  1797),  is  this  note:  "  In  the  Appendix  (to  vol.  i.,  Laws  of  Dela 
ware)  to  the  list  of  signatures  [to  the  Declaration  there  inserted],  p.  72,f 
under  the  head  of  Delaware,  after  George  Read  add  Thomas  McKean, 
who,  though  not  present  at  the  first  general  signature,  being  then  with 
the  'flying  camp'  in  New  Jersey,  had  voted  for  the  measure,  and  signed 
the  original  on  his  return  from  thence,  and  so  it  happened  that  in  the 
first  printed  copies  the  name  was  omitted,  and  such  was  the  one  trans 
mitted  by  Congress  to  this  State." 

*  Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  i.  pp.  118-121. 
f  It  is  page  78. 


230  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

3D. 
BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH  OF  CAESAR  AUGUSTUS  RODNEY, 

Read  before  the  Grand.  Lodge  of  Delaware,  by  WILLIAM  T.  READ, 
Grand  Master  of  Masons  in  Delaware,  June  27th,  1853.  Published 
bij  order  of  the  Grand  Lodge. 


AUGUSTUS  RODNEY  was  born  in  Dover,  in  Kent  County,  in 
the  State  of  Delaware,  on  the  4th  day  of  January,  17  12.     He  was  the 
son  of  Colonel  Thomas  Rodney  and  'Elizabeth  Fisher.     His  family  is 
of  great  antiquity  in   England.     Sir  Walter   de   Rodney,  its  founder, 
having  come,  in  the  twelfth  century,  from  Normandy  as  a  follower  of 
the  Empress  Matilda,  daughter  of  Henry  I.,  and  having  been  distin 
guished  in  the  war  she  waged  with  the  usurper  Stephen.     His  de 
scendants   were   possessed   of  many   manors,    and    were   actors,    and 
prominent  ones,  in  the  stormy  periods  through  which  they  lived.     But, 
at  last,  by  divisions  of  its  estates  in  several  generations  of  the  family, 
lavish  expenditures,  advances  to  aid  the  royal  cause  in  the  time  of  the 
great  rebellion,  and  forfeitures  upon  the  success  of  the  popular  party, 
its  wealth  and  importance  were  greatly  diminished.     Soon  after  the 
settlement  of  Pennsylvania,  William  Rodney,  who  had  married  Alice, 
daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Ca3sar,  an  eminent  London  merchant,  migrated 
to  that  province,  and  finally  settled  in  Kent  County,  Delaware,  where 
he  took  an  active  and  prominent  part  in  public  affairs;   and  was  the 
first  Speaker  of  the  first  House  of  Assembly  of  the  three  lower  counties 
on  Delaware.     He  died  in  1708,  leaving  eight  children,  and  a  large 
entailed  estate,  most  of  which,  by  the  decease  of  nearly  all  of  them 
without  issue,   came   to   the  youngest  of  his   sons,   Caesar,   who  was 
benevolent,  unambitious,  and  undistinguished.  He  married  the  daughter 
of  the   Reverend  Thomas   Crawford,  the  first  missionary  to   Dover, 
Delaware,   of   the   venerable   Society  for  Propagating  the    Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts,  a  pious,  learned,  and  diligent  minister  of  the  church. 
Among  the  eight  children  of  this  marriage  were  Caesar,  the  signer  of 
the  Declaration  of   Independence,  and  Colonel  Thomas  Rodney.*     I 
have  been  informed  by  an  eminent  gentleman,  far  advanced  in  life,  for 
merly  resident  in   Dover,  Delaware,  that  in  his  youth   he  well  knew 
Thomas  Rodney,  —  a   gray-headed   man,  —  much   respected,  _  of  small 
property,  —  not  a  householder,  but  living  with  his  friends,  _  reputed  a 
man  of  extensive  reading,  and  having  good  knowledge  of  law-,  though 
not  a  lawyer  by  profession,—  a  writer  of  essays  for  newspapers,  and 
somewhat  eccentric  in   his  opinions;  and  that  he  was   appointed  by 
President  Jefferson  a  judge  in  the  territory  of  Mississippi,  where  he 
died,  in  that  office,  having  acquired  considerable  property,  f     To  Thomas 


*  His  daughter  Lavinia  was  married  to  John  Fisher,  late  judge  of  the  United 
States  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Delaware. 

f  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp. 
313-318. 


OF   GEOEGE   READ.  231 

Rodney  was  made  the  remarkable  communication  by  General  Charles 
Lee  "that  he  was  the  author  of  the  Letters  of  Junius."  Lee,  with  great 
military  talents,  was  vain,  insatiably  ambitious,  and  unscrupulous,  and, 
with  some  good  qualities,  very  eccentric.  Soured  by  the  disappointment 
of  brilliant  hopes,  he  became  neglectful  of  the  common  decencies  of  life, 
and  terminated  his  career,  full  of  romantic  incidents,  in  fierce  misan 
thropy,  almost  like  a  beast  of  the  jungle  or  forest  in  its  lair.  This  state 
ment  may  be  found  on  pages  76  and  77  of  the  Preliminary  Essay  to  the 
London  edition  of  Junius  of  1812,  republished  in  Philadelphia  in  1813. 
That  Lee  made  this  statement  to  Thomas  Rodney  is  certain,  but  it  has 
been  proved  a  pure  fiction  by  the  comparison  of  his  style  and  political 
opinions  with  those  of  Junius,  and  his  absence  from  England,  when 
the  "Letters  of  Junius"  were  published,  and  that  writer  frequently 
communicating  with  Woodfall. 

Mr.  Rodney  was  brought  up  by  his  uncle  Caesar,  who  was  pre-eminent 
among  the  patriots  of  our  Revolution  for  ardent  attachment  to  the  cause 
of  his  country.  His  talents,  consecrated  to  the  public  weal,  gave  him 
great  influence  in  that  august  assembly,  the  Continental  Congress,  while 
the  amenity  of  his  manners  and  the  playfulness  of  his  wit  made  him  the 
darling  of  "his  friends.  From  this  venerable  man,  in  whom  the  stern 
virtue  of  an  old  Roman  was  softened  by  the  heaven-born  influences  of 
our  favored  era,  Mr.  Rodney,  doubtless,  imbibed  that  admiration  of  our 
civil  institutions  which  distinguished  Jiim.  His  uncle  made  provision 
in  his  will  for  his  education,  which  was  completed  in  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  where  he  graduated  with  distinction  at  an  early  age,  in 
1790,  and  soon  after  commenced  the  study  of  the  law  in  the  office  of 
Joseph  13.  McKean.  The  profession  of  his  choice  did  not  tempt  his 
voung  ambition  with  the  splendid  incentives  of  the  British  Barrister, 
the  princely  revenue  and  the  glittering  coronet,  but  he  adopted  it  from 
inclination,  and  by  the  advice  of  his  friends,  who  considered  him  suited 
to  it.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1793,  and  commenced  the  practice 
of  the  law  in  Wilmington,  Delaware.  His  practice,  though  he  was  dis 
couraged  by  failure  in  his  first  efforts,  after  a  time  became  respectable, 
and  then  lucrative.  If  he  was  surpassed  by  some  of  his  contemporaries 
in  vigor  and  grasp  and  subtlety  of  intellect  and  profound  erudition,  they 
were  in  the  first  rank  of  the  lawyers  of  their  day.  While  he  brought  to 
the  forum  competent  power  as  a  dialectician,  with  extensive  knowledge 
of  legal  principles,  and  decisions,  it  was  in  addressing  a  jury  that  he 
excelled.  Always  fluent,  he  could  be  pathetic,  or  delight  his  hearers 
with  declamation,  adorned  by  figures,  from  his  prolific  fancy,  or  by  facts, 
from  his  ample  store  of  general  knowledge.  So  simple  and  unaffected 
was  he  in  dress,  and  address,  so  kindly,  and  benevolent,  and  good- 
humored,  that  the  Court,  the  jury,  the  bar,  and  the  by-standcrs  listened 
to  him  with  favor,  and  were  inclined  to  his  side  of  the  case.  Old-fash 
ioned  lawyers  sometimes  thought  he  got  out  of  bounds.  Chief  Justice 
Read,  when  he  quoted  "  Beccaria  on  Crimes  and  Punishments, "stopped 
him,  saying,  "that  book  was  no  authority  in  his  court"  Invective— 
that  terrible  weapon  of  the  orator,  beneath  which  men  of  iron  nerves 
cower  in  dismay  and  confusion,  I  will  not  say  he  could  not  wield,  but  I 
believe  he  never  did  wield  it. 

Seldom  is  the  deep-read  lawyer  a  polite  scholar.     Inured  to  grapple 
with  syllogisms,  and  to  chase  subtleties  through  the  labyrinths  of  legal 


232  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

disquisition,  he  disdains  to  frolic  with  the  Muses.  Mr.  Rodney,  wisely, 
thought  that  an  argument  would  not  be  less  conclusive  because  clothed 
in  elegant  diction,  nor  less  clear  because  illustrated  by  metaphor,  and 
though  he  must  cite  black-lettered  reporters  he  might  quote  from  the 
poets.  He  justly  concluded  that  a  man  to  be  eminent  in  his  peculiar 
pursuit  must  have  some  acquaintance,  if  not  with  all  others,  at  least 
with  kindred  ones.  His  taste  for  elegant  literature,  perhaps  first 
awakened  at  the  university,  was  sedulously  cultivated  in  after-life..  His 
library,  judiciously  selected,  was  the  largest  in  our  State,  and  whoever 
listened  to  him  was  soon  aware  that  it  was  not  for  show  he  accumulated 
books — to  accumulate  them  was,  indeed,  his  passion — to  love  them — 
what  is  it  but  to  delight  in  converse  with  the  wise  and  with  the  good 
of  all  ages  ? 

Mr.  Rodney  appeared  to  greatest  advantage — bland,  gentle,  and  affec 
tionate  as  he  was — in  the  bosom  of  his  family.  Too  often,  could  we 
follow  distinguished  men  from  the  public  scene  of  their  triumphs  to  the 
hallowed  precincts  of  domestic  life,  would  wg  be  pained  by  witnessing 
the  jocund  laugh  of  infancy  stilled  at  their  approach,  fear  paling  the 
menial's  brow,  and  tears  on  the  cheeks  of  partners  they  had  sworn 
before  high  heaven  to  love  and  to  cherish.  Too  often  the  man  who  has 
inveighed,  in  the  forum  or  Senate-house,  against  oppression,  is  the  mean 
tyrant  of  his  own  hearth. 

Mr.  Rodney  possessed  great  conversational  talent. 

He  talked  much,  not  from  ostentation,  but  because  his  mind  was  full 
to  overflowing,  and  because  he  loved  to  impart  pleasure.  He  was  not 
one  of  those  lovers  of  logomachy,  who  open  their  mouths  only  to  do 
battle,  nor  one  of  those  haranguers,  who  make  mutes  of  all  not  as  vain, 
selfish,  and  impudent  as  themselves.  To  the  young  and  the  diffident 
his  manner  was  kind,  and  almost  paternal,  he  was  watchful  to  draw 
them  out,  and  prompt  to  commend  when  they  acquitted  themselves 
well.  His  reading  was  so  general  that  he  could  instruct  or  amuse  on 
many  subjects,  and  from  his  share  in  public  affairs,  and  intimate  ac 
quaintance  with  statesmen  of  his  day,  during  some  of  the  most  interest 
ing  periods  of  our  history,  he  had  a  fund  of  valuable  information.  His 
anecdotes,  of  which  he  had  ample  store,  were  pointed,  well  told,  and 
happily  introduced.  Benevolence,  unfeigned,  so  impregnated  his  dis 
course  that  it  was  difficult  to  listen  to  him  and  not  to  love  him,  and 
while  listening  to  the  wisdom  and  the  wit  of  this  fascinating  companion 
the  sands  of  life  passed  unheeded,  and 

11  Daylight  would  into  the  lattice  peep 
Ere  night  seemed  well  begun." 

He  loved  to  speak  not  of  the  divine  attribute  of  power,  not  of  Jehovah 
when 

"  Looking  on  the  earth  it  quakes, 
Touching  the  mountains  and  they  burn," 

but  of  God  as  love,  pitying  the  infirmities  of  his  creatures,  opening  wide 
his  hand,  and  filling  all  things  living  with  plenteousness,  and  spreading 
his  protecting  wings  over  his  children,  on  the  land  and  on  the  sea. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  233 

In  1791  Mr.  Rodney  married  Susan,  daughter  of  John  Hunn,  who 
survived  him,  and  they  had  twelve  children.* 

He  was  at  an  early  period  of  his  life  involved  in  the  turmoil  of  poli 
tics,  because  then,  as  now,  it  was  difficult  for  the  eminent  lawyer  to 
avoid  being  a  busy  politician.  The  political  corkests  of  that  period 
were  violent.  Truth,  candor,  and  charity  were  too  often  immolated  on 
the  altar  of  party.  It  is  a  fact  most  honorable  to  Mr.  Rodney,  that 
though  an  active  and  leading  Democrat,  he  numbered  among  his  warm 
est  friends  some  of  the  most  distinguished  Federal  leaders — for  example, 
Bayard,  White,  and  Yining.  There  can  be  no  stronger  evidence  of  his 
great  popularity  than  his  election,  in  1802,  to  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  of  the  United  States  by  a  majority  of  fifteen  votes  over  James  A. 
Bayard,  so  eminent  as  a  statesman,  f  It  appears,  by  his  letter  of  De 
cember  5th,  1803,  to  my  father,  that  he  was  then  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  On  the  5th  of  December,  1804,  he 
was  chosen,  by  ballot,  one  of  the  seven  managers  to  conduct  the  im 
peachment  of  Judge  Chase,  which,  from  the  character  of  the  accused, 
the  ability  it  evoked,  and  the  deep  and  extensive  excitement  of  political 
feeling  it  caused,  was  invested  with  an  importance  and  interest  which, 
in  some  measure,  it  still  retains.  What  was  the  City  of  Washington 
at  that  day  ?  It  was  a  city  of  great  pretension  and  small  performance. 
The  visitor  there,  for  the  first  time,  who  had  seen  its  magnificent  plan, 
was  astonished  to  find  its  avenues  and  streets,  fitted  to  be  the  thorough 
fares  of  the  busy  throngs  of  a  great  emporium,  partially  opened,  and 
bordered  not  by  lofty  edifices,  but  the  stately  trees  of  the  American 
forest,  with  groups  of  houses,  at  wide  intervals,  which  made  it,  in 
truth,  no  more  than  a  collection  of  villages.  The  President — who 
affected  contempt  for  forms,  which  that  wily  leader  of  a  great  party 
knew  full  well  would  be  lauded  as  republican  simplicity — might  be 
encountered,  any  day,  on  the  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  making  his  way 
through  its  sloughs,  on  his  Virginia  pony,  and  hitching  it  to  a  post, 
while  he  paid  a  visit  The  wings  of  the  Capitol  alone  were  built,  the 
gap  between  them  being  filled  by  a  structure  of  boards,  which  gave  the 
appearance  of  meanness  to  both.  The  trial  of  Judge  Chase  began  on 
the  4th  of  February,  1805.  The  beautiful  Senate-chamber,  which  has 
that  greatest  merit  of  any  work  of  man,  suitability  to  its  object,  which 
its  more  imposing  neighbor — the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives — wants,  was  fitted  up  for  this  occasion  with  due  regard  to  con 
venience  and  some  to  effect.  Aaron  Burr  presided,  dignified  and  impartial, 
as  was  universally  admitted  ;  his  hands  red  with  the  blood  of  Hamilton  ; 
his  dark  eye  as  piercing  and  his  equanimity  as  undisturbed  as  if  he  had 
not  made  utter  shipwreck  of  fortune  and  of  fame.  Upon  his  right  hand 


*  Aaron  Burr,  in  a  letter  to  his  daughter  Theodosia,  of  the  17th  February, 
1802,  requests  her  to  desire  Dr.  Edwards  to  give  Mr.  Alston  a  "line  to  C.  A. 
Rodney,  a  very  respectable  young  man." — Davis' s  Life  of  A.  Burr,  vol.  ii.  p.  145. 

In  a  letter  dated ,  to  *A.  Burr,  Mr.  Rodney  says,  "  I  had  the  pleasure  of  re 
ceiving  yours  of  the  10th  instant.  The  advice  you  kindly  give  I  shall  cheerfully 
follow.  It  has  ever  been  my  maxim  to  be  moderate  but  firm — suamter  in  morlo, 
fortiter  in  re."  And  in  a  letter  dated  20th  March,  1802,  he  informs  him,  "  I  have 
purchased  a  little  tract,  adjoining  Dr.  Tilton's,  which  he  showed  you,  and  have 
cut  out  abundant  work  for  the  season."—  Ibid.,  pp.  102,  190. 

f  Hildreth's  History  of  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  ii.  p.  486. 

16 


234  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  his  left  sat  the  Senators  on  benches  covered  with  crimson  cloth. 
The  eye  of  the  spectator,  as  it  glanced  over  these  statesmen,  elderly, 
grave,  and  dignified,  dwelt  longest  on  the  men  of  mark;  among  them, 
for  example,  on  our  own  Bayard  ;  on  John  Quincy  Adams,  already  dis 
tinguished  by  ability  in  debate,  multifarious  knowledge,  and  ungainly 
manners ;  or  Pickering,  with  his  bald  head  and  cue,  covering,  as  the 
elder  Adams  afterward  charged,*  under  his  puritanical  garb  and  de 
meanor  boundless  ambition,  who,  retiring  from  office  as  poor  as  he 
entered  it,  lived  on  a  farm  of  a  few  acres  with  the  simplicity  of  Cincin- 
natus,  and  who  has  left  in  the  archives  at  Washington  proofs  of  his 
ability  as  Secretary  of  State  inferior  to  that  of  none  of  his  successors, 
Webster  excepted.  The  Representatives,  most  of  them  much  younger 
men,  were  seated  in  front  of  the  Senators,  on  benches  covered  with 
green  cloth.  In  front  of  the  Representatives,  on  seats  draped  with  blue 
cloth,  were  the  Managers  of  the  House.  Among  them  the  most  promi 
nent  was  John  Randolph,  whose  failure  on  this  occasion  dimmed  the 
splendor  of  his  fame  as  a  great  parliamentary  orator,  and  was  poorly 
covered  by  the  lame  excuse  that  he  had  lost  his  notes.  On  the  left  of 
the  President  appeared  the  counsel  of  the  accused.  Harper — working  as 
a  joiner  while  he  gained  his  early  education,  and  by  indomitable  perse 
verance  making  his  way  to  Nassau  Hall — stood  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
lawyers  of  his  country  and  the  statesmen  of  the  Federal  party ;  Lee, 
Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  set  off  his  legal  knowledge  with 
the  fluent  speech  and  graceful  action  which  distinguished  the  Virginians 
in  the  early  periods  of  our  history ;  Martin,  with  his  profound  learning 
and  ponderous  reasoning,  which,  ebrius  vel  non  ebrius,  seldom  failed 
him  ;  the  young  Hopkinson,  elated  by  his  success  in  the  courts  of  Penn 
sylvania,  and  burning  with  ambition  of  fame  coextensive  with  the  Union, 
and  already  extensively  known  as  the  author  of  "  Hail  Columbia,"f 
patriotically  composed  to  awaken  an  American  feeling,  which  might 
supplant  the  miserable  devotion  of  the  two  great  parties  of  that  day  to 
the  two  great  belligerents  of  Europe.  Hail  Columbia,  though  no  high 
place  can  be  claimed  for  it  as  a  poetical  composition,  carries  with  it  so 
many  precious  recollections  that  it  will  not,  I  hope,  be  consigned  to 
oblivion  when  we  shall  boast,  as  assuredly  we  shall,  a  national  song 
equalling  or  surpassing  the  grand  lyrics  of  Campbell.  In  the  arrange 
ments  of  the  Senate-chamber  for  this  trial  the  ladies  were  not  forgotten. 
They  were  seated  in  a  semi-circular  gallery,  over  the  benches  of  the  Rep 
resentatives,  and  for  the  most  part  were  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 
most  distinguished  men  of  the  nation.  Among  them,  pre-eminent  for 
her  queenly  bearing,  sat  Mrs.  Madison,  receiving,  as  her  due,  the  homage 
paid  to  her  bland  and  graceful  manners  rather  than  to  her  position  as 
wife  of  the  Secretary  of  State.  No  Senator,  I  am  sure,  looked  reprov 
ingly  upon  these  fair  ones,  if  in  parts  of  this  solemn  trial  which  they 
could  not  understand,  and  would  not  have  relished  if  they  could,  their 
eyes  wandered  to  the  box  of  the  foreign  ministers  and  their  young 
attaches,  glittering  with  orders  and  embroidery.  But  the  object  of 
absorbing  interest  was  the  accused.  Proclamation  was  made  that 
Samuel  Chase  appear  and  answer  the  articles  of  impeachment  exhibited 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  ii.  pp.  37,372. 
f  Ibid.,  p.  208. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  235 

against  him.  When  that  old  man  eloquent  addressed  the  court  deny 
ing-  most  of  the  acts  imputed  to  him,  asserting  the  legality  of  those  he 
admitted,  and  denying  the  improper  motives  with  which  the  acts  charged 
were  alleged  to  have  been  done,  who  could  forget  that  the  sonorous 
voice  which  filled  the  Senate-chamber,  first  raised  in  opposition  to  the 
stamp-act,  had,  through  the  whole  period  of  the  Revolution,  stirred  his 
fellow-citizens  in  the  Legislature  of  his  native  State,  in  their  primary 
assemblies,  and  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  to  resist  unto  death  the  arbi 
trary  acts  of  the  mother-country?  who  could  forget  that  some  of  the 
ablest  of  the  great  state-papers  of  that  Congress  were  from  his  pen? 
and,  above  all,  who  could  forget  that  his  name  was  signed  to  that  im 
mortal  instrument  which  proclaimed  to  the  world  that  the  United  States, 
free,  sovereign,  and  independent,  had  taken  her  place  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth  ?  Judge  Chase  was  declared  guilty  of  only  three  articles 
of  the  impeachment  by  a  bare  majority,  unanimously  acquitted  of  one, 
and  found  guilty  of  none,  by  a  vote  of  two-thirds,  and,  of  course,  pro 
nounced  acquitted  of  all, — and,  I  think,  justly,  though  his  ardent  attach 
ment  to  great  principles  of  government,  he  thought  endangered  by 
factious  violence,  led  him  to  touch,  in  his  charges,  on  topics  forbidden  by 
sound  policy  to  the  judge,  and  conscious  of  great  ability,  and  by  nature 
overbearing,  he,  perhaps,  exhibited  on  the  bench  somewhat  of  the  passion 
and  hauteur  said  to  have  characterized  many  of  the  colonial  judges.* 

Mr.  Rodney  displayed  such  ability  and  legal  knowledge  as  one 
of  the  managers  of  this  impeachment  as  greatly  augmented  his  repu 
tation.  In  1804  three  of  the  four  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
Pennsylvania  were  impeached  for  their  (alleged)  unlawful  commitment 
for  contempt  of  one  of  the  parties  in  a  libel  suit  pending  in  their  court. 
In  1805  Mr.  Rodney  was  employed  to  conduct  this  impeachment,  which 
resulted  in  the  acquittal  of  the  accused.  (Hildreth's  History  of  the 
United  States  (2d  Series),  vol  ii.  pp.  514,  552.)  The  Federal  party 
having  regained  its  ascendency  in  Delaware,  he  was  not  re-elected  to 
the  United  States  House  of  Representatives;  but  in  180T  he  was  ap 
pointed  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States,  and  held  this  office  for 
four  years.  The  attorney-general  was  not  a  cabinet-officer  until  1814  ; 
but  though  not  a  member  of  the  cabinet,  from  his  high  place  in  the 
friendship  and  confidence  of  Jefferson  and  Madison,  he  shared,  I  have 
no  doubt,  in  the  anxieties  and  counsels  of  that  momentous  period,  when 
our  country,  constantly  on  the  verge  of  war  with  the  belligerents,  who 
plundered  her  commerce,  was  brought  to  the  brink  of  disunion  by  in 
ternal  dissensions.  I  know  of  but  one  of  his  opinions  as  attorney- 
general  that  has  been  questioned, — that  one  under  which  Mr  Jeffer 
son,  applying  to  the  case  a  territorial  law,  ousted  Edward  Livingston ; 
and  his  opinion  must  have  been  required  on  many  nice  and  difficult 
questions  which  arose  under  the  embargo  and  non-importation  laws. 
In  February,  1807,  in  the  cases  of  Bollman  and  Swartwout,  brought 
by  habeas  corpus  before  the  United  States  Supreme  Court,  on  the  ques 
tions  whether  they  should  be  discharged  or  held  for  trial,  and,  if  held, 
confined  or  bailed,  Mr.  Rodney,  as  Attorney-General  of  the  United 
States,  appeared  and  made  an  able  argument,  the  court  deciding  that 
the  accused  should  be  discharged  for  want  of  probable  cause  for  sup- 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  ii.  p.  544. 


236  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

posing  them  guilty.  (Burr's  Trial,  vol.  i.  pp.  21-30.)  In  1807  the 
mysterious  movements  of  Aaron  Burr  induced  his  arrest  on  the  Tom- 
bigbee,  on  the  charge  of  treason,  and  his  removal  to  Richmond,  Vir 
ginia,  where  he  arrived  on  the  26th  of  March,  and  on  the  30th  of  that 
month  was  transferred  by  his  military  escort  to  the  civil  authority  and 
brought  before  Chief  Justice  Marshall  for  examination.  In  his  trials 
in  August  and  September  of  that  year,  on  indictments  for  treason  and 
misdemeanor,  Mr.  Rodney  did  not  participate.  Upon  the  motion  that 
he  should  be  committed  to  take  his  trial  on  the  charges  of  misdemeanor, 
in  setting  on  foot  a  military  expedition  against  the  dominions  of  the 
king  of  Spain,  and  of  treason,  in  levying  war  against  the  United  States, 
Mr.  Rodney,  as  Attorney-General,  argued  in  support  of  this  motion. 
His  speech  is  not  given  at  large,  but  imperfectly  by  the  reporter  from 
his  own  recollections  and  information  from  others.  (Burr's  Trial, 
Preface.)  But  with  these  disadvantages,  it  exhibits  legal  knowledge 
and  ability  equal  to  the  requirements  of  a  case  so  important,  in  which 
it  was  his  painful  duty  to  appear  against  an  individual  so  distinguished, 
and  who,  he  remarked,  was  once  his  friend  and  received  in  his  house  as 
such.  (Burr's  Trial,  vol.  i.  pp.  1,  8,  9,  10.  20.)  I  have  been  informed 
by  a  member  of  his  family  that  he  went  to  Richmond  to  take  part  in 
the  preliminary  proceedings  in  the  case,  but  had  little  share  in  them, 
having  been  prostrated  by  an  attack  of  yellow  fever  soon  after  his  arrival 
there. 

Archibald  Hamilton  Rowan,  then  an  exile  from  Ireland  for  political 
opinions,  for  which  he  had  been  prosecuted  and  convicted,  though  ably 
defended  by  Curran  in  the  most  eloquent  of  his  speeches,  had  been  the 
guest  of  Mr.  Rodney,  having  been  a  resident  for  a  short  time  in  Wilming 
ton  or  its  vicinity.  The  intercourse  between  Rowan — highly  educated 
and  refined — and  Mr.  Rodney,  under  circumstances  that  excited  his 
warmest  sympathy,  soon  ripened  into  friendship.  As  soon  as  he  heard 
of  Mr.  Rodney's  illness,  this  warm-hearted  Irishman  travelled,  on  horse 
back,  to  Richmond,  to  minister  to  his  friend  in  a  disease  of  the  most 
malignant  character,  then  generally  believed  to  be  contagious,  and 
which  has  too  often  scared  from  the  bedsides  of  its  victims  their  nearest 
relatives  and  their  dearest  friends.  The  Irishman  has  his  faults, — no 
son  of  Adam  is  without  them, — but  was  he  ever  found  ungrateful  ?  The 
following  anecdote  I  may  be  pardoned  for  recounting,  upon  the  same 
authority  as  the  preceding  one,  becauses  it  illustrates  a  trait  of  Mr. 
Rodney's  character,  his  antipathy  to  titles  of  all  sorts,  and  his  scorn  of 
the  fondness  of  some  of  his  countrymen  for  such  distinctions,  so  incon 
sistent  with  their  professed  opinions : 

Soon  after  he  had  taken  lodgings  at  a  hotel  in  Richmond,  one  of  its 
waiters  (a  sable  one,  of  course),  addressing  him,  said,  "Major,  will 
you  please  come  to  supper  ?"  "  I  am  no  major,"  answered  Mr.  Rodney. 
•'Colonel,"  replied  the  black,  "please  to  come."  "I  am  no  colonel," 
said  Mr.  Rodney,  much  amused  with 'his  pertinacity.  The  waiter  then 
retreated,  but  quickly  returned,  and  addressing  him,  with  tenfold 
formality  and  respect,  said,  "  General,  be  so  good  as  to  walk  down  to 
supper."  "My  friend,"  replied  Mr.  Rodney,  "I  am  not  a  general." 
"  You  are,"  persisted  the  waiter,  "  for  I  heard  men  say  in  the  bar-room 
that  you  are  the  'Eternal  General.'"  Office  subjected  Mr.  Rodney,  as 
it  has  most  of  our  public  men,  to  great  pecuniary  loss.  In  a  letter  to 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  237 

my  father,  from  Washington,  dated  July  20th,  1807,  soon  after  the 
attack  of  the  Leopard  upon  the  Chesapeake,  he  says,  "I  have  been 
detained  here,  my  dear  friend,  much  longer  than  I  contemplated,  by 
events  as  unexpected  as  they  are  unexampled.  It  is  very  uncertain 
when  I  shall  get  a  furlough  from  head-quarters,  though  I  never  was  so 
anxious  to  see  home,  because  I  came  here  unprepared  for  a  summer's 
residence,  after  having  spent  the  winter  at  this  place.  It  is  extremely 
inconvenient  to  me,  at  this  time,  to  abandon,  as  it  were,  my  family  and 
my  business  at  the  court,  for  I  stand  in  need  of  the  profits  of  every 
term,  but_at  such  a  crisis  there  is  no  personal  sacrifice  I  would  not  make 
rather  than  desert  my  post  in  a  perilous  season."  He  adds,  "  The  Triumph 
and  Bellona,  each  of  seventy-four  guns,  still  remain  in  the  Chesapeake. 
In  a  short  time  Captain  Decatur  will  give  a  good  account  of  them.  He 
has  eight  gunboats  complete,  and  in  a  few  days  he  will  have  eight  more. 
With  this  flotilla,  on  a  calm  day,  he  could  attack  and  sink  seventy- 
fours."  From  which  paragraph  I  infer  that  Mr.  Rodney  was  a  believer 
in  one  of  Thomas  Jefferson's  hobbies  and  fallacies — the  gunboat  system. 
In  1811  he  resigned  the  office  of  Attorney- General  of  the  United  States, 
probably  from  prudential  considerations,  which  the  claims  of  his  large 
family  would  no  longer  suffer  him  to  disregard. 

He  returned  to  the  practice  of  the  law,  in  Wilmington,  and  must  have 
vividly  Enjoyed  the  transition  from  the  toils  and  disquietude  of  office  to 
the  tranquillity  of  his  happy  home. 

As  soon  as  the  war  of  1812  was  declared,  he  was  elected  captain  of 
a  company  of  artillery.  Beloved  by  his  men,  as  he  was  in  every  situa 
tion,  he  was  a  good  officer,  and  commanded  them  through  that  war. 
They  volunteered  their  services  to  the  United  States — were  accepted, 
discharged  garrison  duty  for  some  time,  and  were  encamped  for  a 
season,  being  part  of  a  body  of  four  hundred  men  who  marched  from 
Delaware  to  aid  in  the  defence  of  Baltimore;  but  were  arrested  before 
reaching  it,  by  intelligence  that  they  were  not  needed. 

Careless  as  Mr.  Rodney  was  of  dress,  his  coats  always  having  been 
of  the  cut  ludicrously,  but  aptly,  termed  the  shad-belly,  his  military 
equipment  may  have  shocked  a  martinet,  but  if  his  artillery  jacket  was 
sometimes  buttoned  awry,  it  covered  as  brave  and  patriotic  a  heart  as 
ever  beat  beneath  a  uniform. 

Mr.  Rodney  was  a  member  of  Washington  Lodge,  Wilmington,  and 
was  elected  Senior  Warden  of  the  Grand  Lodge  of  Delaware  on  the 
24th  of  June,  1812. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States  were,  from  mingled  motives  of 
benevolence  and  interest,  anxious  spectators,  during  the  long  civil 
war  between  Spain  and  her  South  American  colonies.  The  colonial 
policy  of  the  great  commercial  nations  of  Europe  has  disgraced  them 
by  its  selfishness  and  rapacity,  and  that  of  Spain  especially.  The 
agriculture  and  manufactures  of  her  colonists  were  subjected  to  re 
straints  almost  incredible  ;  for  example,  the  cultivation  of  the  olive  and 
the  vine  was  forbidden  in  districts  well  suited  to  them.  The  commerce 
of  the  Spanish  colonies  was  restricted  to  Spanish  bottoms,  ana  though 
never  granted  to  exclusive  companies,  yet  being  confined  to  a  single 
port  (first  Seville  and  then  Cadiz),  falling  into  a  few  hands,  was  in  effect 
a  monopoly.  Even  intercourse  between  her  provinces  was  only  par 
tially  permitted.  Education  was  not  fostered,  and  was  confined  to 


238  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Latin,  scholastic  philosophy,  and  jurisprudence,  civil  and  ecclesiastical. 
The  Creoles  were  excluded  from  all  offices  but  municipal  ones;  there 
was  among  them  no  liberty  of  conscience,  no  freedom  of  the  press,  no 
habeas  corpus,  no  trial  by  jury,  no  share  in  legislation,  and  no  books 
but  those  admitted  by  government  censors.  The  king  of  Spain,  not 
the  Spanish  nation,  was  the  owner  of  these  colonies,  by  virtue  of  a  papal 
grant,  the  bull  of  Alexander  VI.  His  will  was  law.  Foreign  vessels 
were  excluded  from  his  colonies,  and  intercourse  with  them  punishable 
with  death ;  and  when  he  relaxed  this  rule,  as  on  a  few  occasions  he 
did,  it  was  for  brief  periods.  But  though  he  could  shut  out  legitimate 
trade,  and  though  he  treated  intruding  foreigners,  who  fell  into  his 
power,  with  exceeding  cruelty,  he  could  not  exclude  the  smuggler.  It 
was,  too,  part  of  his  narrow  system  to  make  this  vast  region  a  sealed 
book  to  all  except  Spain.  But  her  own  writers  had  delighted  and  as 
tonished  the  world  with  narratives  of  the  conquest  of  South  America, 
and  accounts  of  its  climate,  its  geography,  its  productions,  and  aboriginal 
inhabitants,  truthful  in  general,  but  with  the  coloring  of  romance,  and 
very  far  from  possessing  the  accuracy  of  such  works  of  our  time.  The 
royal  license,  but  at  recent  periods,  had  opened  South  America  to  enter 
prising  and  intelligent  travellers;  for  example,  in  1790,  to  Alexander 
Von  Humboldt,  the  result  of  whose  journeys  was  given  to  the  world  in 
twelve  volumes,  illustrated  with  maps  and  drawings,  a  work  for  extent, 
value,  and  accuracy  of  information  unparalleled.  Our  trade  with  South 
America  since  1810  had  greatly  augmented  our  knowledge  of  this 
region.  In  1817  a  large  party  of  our  citizens  had  become  impatient  for 
the  acknowledgment  by  our  government  of  the  South  America  repub 
lics.  Calm  and  reflecting  men  in  the  minority,  as  they  have  ever  been, 
doubted  whether  their  citizens,  misgoverned  for  centuries,  could,  in  the 
brief  period  they  had  been  left  to  their  own  guidance,  have  gained  the 
knowledge  and  love  of  true  political  principles  necessary  to  establish 
and  maintain  free  and  independent  governments.  To  solve  this  doubt 
Mr.  Monroe  instituted  the  mission  to  South  America,  of  which  Mr. 
Rodney  was  the  head.  This  appointment  was  most  gratifying, — true, 
the  duty  it  devolved  upon  him  was  arduous,  separation  from  his  family 
was  in  prospect,  the  perils  and  privation  of  a  protracted  sea  voyage,  and 
sojourn  in  a  land  of  various  climates,  were  before  him,  but  the  trust  was 
most  honorable,  for  he  was  to  leave  his  country,  not  on  an  ordinary 
errand  of  diplomacy,  but  to  solve  the  momentous  problem  whether  mil 
lions  of  his  fellow-men  deserved  or  not  to  be  recognized  by  the  United 
States  among  the  independent  nations  of  the  earth.  In  July  the  Com 
missioners  proceeded  to  New  York,  to  embark  in  the  Ontario,  but  their 
sailing  was  delayed  by  the  illness  and  death  of  Mr.  Rodney's  second 
son,  a  midshipman  of  that  vessel,  and  they  finally  declined  taking  pas 
sage  in  her,  considering  her  accommodations  inadequate.  They  sailed 
on  the  4th  of  December,  1817,  in  the  frigate  Congress,  Commodore 
Sinclair,  from  Hampton  Roads.  In  that  little  world — a  ship  of  war — 
there  was  much  to  interest  and  instruct.  He  had  been,  for  the  recovery 
of  impaired  health,  a  voyager  in  early  life,  and  ever  after  was  an  ardent 
admirer  of  our  hardy  mariners,  and  their  floating  abodes.  There  is, 
perhaps,  no  object  which  awakens  so  many  associations,  dear  to  the 
philanthropist  and  the  patriot,  as  that  miracle  of  art,  a  ship.  While  she 
equalizes  the  distribution  nature  has  made  of  her  bounties  among  nations, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  239 

she  is  the  winged  messenger  who  diffuses  the  precious  light  of  knowl 
edge  among  millions  who  sit  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death. 
We  think,  as  we  look  upon  her,  anchored  in  some  placid  bay,  in  the 
language  of  Campbell,  "of  her  days  of  toil,  and  her  nights  of  danger." 
Every  American  must  remember  how  often  she  has  proudly  borne  the 
flag  of  his  country  aloft  in  the  hour  of  battle,  and  the  halo  of  undying- 
glory  with  which  she  has  encircled  our  name.  In  this  voyage  Mr. 
Rodney's  power  to  attract  and  attach  was  soon  manifested.  Often  in 
the  delicious  nights,  peculiar  to  the  tropics,  while  the  gallant  frigate 
glided  through  the  ocean,  which  reflected  the  orbs  that  shone  in  glory 
above  her,  but  among  which  no  star  of  home  sparkled,  and  the  gleeful 
laugh  of  the  frank-hearted  sailor  alone  broke  the  stillness,  did  the  offi 
cers  of  the  Congress  find  in  his  conversation  a  delightful  relief  from  the 
ennui  of  a  sea  voyage.  Alas  !  many  of  these  young  men — then  so  full 
of  talent,  and  courage,  and  hope — with  Sinclair,  and  Graham,  and 
Bland,  and  Baldwin* — have  long  since  been  numbered  with  the  dead. 
Having  touched  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  the  Commissioners  arrived  after  a 
prosperous  voyage  at  Montevideo,  from  which  place,  the  Congress  hav 
ing  too  great  draught  of  water  to  ascend  the  La  Plata  farther*they 
proceeded  in  a  small  brig,  "  the  Malacabada,"  or  "Unfinished,"  by 
name,  as  ill-found  and  dirty  a  craft  as  ever  sailed,  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
where  they  arrived  on  the  28th  of  February,  1818,  landing  so  unex 
pectedly  as  to  defeat  the  public  reception,  with  which  it  was  intended 
to  honor  them.  The  "United  Provinces  of  La  Plata,"  or  the  "  Argen 
tine  Republic,"  then  comprised  about  two-thirds  of  the  viceroyalty  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  the  area  of  which  was  about  one  million  five  hundred 
thousand  square  miles.  Watered  by  the  grand  La  Plata  and  its  afflu 
ents,  and  other  rivers,  its  fertile  soil  teemed  with  the  productions  of  the 
temperate  and  torrid  zones.  The  heroic  and  successful  repulses  of  the 
attacks  of  Sir  Home  Popham  in  1806,  and  of  General  Whitelock  in  1807, 
taught  the  inhabitants  of  this  viceroyalty  their  strength,  and  the  war 
consequent  upon  the  overthrow  of  the  ancient  government  of  Spain  by 
Napoleon  so  engrossed  the  parent-country  that  she  abandoned,  as  it 
seemed,  her  colonies,  and  the  Argentine  provinces,  as  much  from  neces 
sity  as  choice,  assumed  and  exercised  in  1810  the  powers  of  self-govern 
ment,  virtually  independent  from  that  year,  though  their  independence 
was  not  formally  declared  till  1816.  From  1810  almost  till  the  arrival 
of  our  Commissioners  they  had  been  distracted  by  war  with  the  old 
Spaniards,  who,  occupying,  with  armies  from  Peru,  the  upper  country 
of  the  La  Plata,  and  stained  by  great  cruelties,  strove  to  restore  the 
despotism  of  the  mother-country.  This  war  was  succeeded  and  accom 
panied  by  contests,  too  often  sanguinary,  between  two  great  parties  of 
the  revolutionists,  one  in  favor  of  a  consolidated  government,  adapted 
to  the  changed  state  of  their  affairs,  with  a  chief  magistrate,  much  like 
the  old  viceroys,  the  other  advocating  a  confederacy  of  these  provinces, 
like  that  of  the  United  States.  There  were,  besides,  the  disturbing 
elements  of  ambition  and  cupidity  in  unprincipled  men,  and  intense 
jealousy  in  the  other  provinces  of  the  ascendency  and  leadership  of 

*  Surgeon  of  the  Congress — a  native  of  Wilmington,  Delaware,  and  eminent 
as  a  botanist.  H.  M.  Brackenridge,  the  able  and  accomplished  Secretary  of  the 
Mission,  afterwards  a  member  of  the  U.  S.  House  of  Kepresentatives,  survives. 


240  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Buenos  Ayres,  to  which,  though  it  may  have  been  unduly  claimed  and 
attained,  her  superior  intelligence,  wealth,  and  sacrifices  for  the  com 
mon  cause  gave  her  pretensions,  plausible  at  least.  But  on  the  3d  of 
December,  1817,  a  general  Congress  of  these  provinces,  at  first  nine, 
then  fourteen  (the  additional  provinces  being  created  out  of  the  original 
ones),  enacted  at  Buenos  Ayres  a  provisional  regulation,  to  be  in  force 
till  a  constitution  should  be  adopted.  This  regulation  provided  for  the 
election  of  a  Congress,  and  invested  it  with  supreme  legislative  power, 
under  wise  restraints,  with  power  to  appoint  a  chief  magistrate,  to  be 
styled  Supreme  Director.  This  provisional  instrument,  with  great  de 
fects,  has  many  good  enactments,  but  is  blemished  by  a  pedantic 
declaration  of  rights  and  duties,  which  American  constitution-makers 
take  for  granted  none  can  question,  and  therefore  never  insert  The 
Commissioners  found  this  provisional  government  subsisting,  Don 
Manuel  Puerreydon,  Director,  and  the  country  tranquil,  with  the  ap 
pearance  at  least  of  stability.  Their  reception  by  this  officer  was,  in 
Mr.  Rodney's  words,  "kind  and  flattering,  and  they  received  from  every 
citiz<|n  a  cordial  welcome."  Many  were  the  novel  and  interesting  ob 
jects  presented  by  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  Commissioners — her  regular 
and  spacious  streets,  the  Moorish  style  of  architecture  of  her  houses, 
her  noble  plaza,  her  stately  cathedral  and  churches,  with  their  gorgeous 
worship,  her  theatre  and  bull-fights,  her  salubrious  climate,  indicated 
by  her  name,  the  brilliant  eyes  and  graceful  carriage  of  her  ladies,  their 
sallow  complexions,  bad  teeth,  and  cigarros,  and  the  viaticum,  borne  by 
a  priest,  seated  in  a  gilded  chariot,  drawn  by  white  mules,  with  a  guard 
of  black  soldiers.  Great  was  the  embarrassment  of  Protestant  foreigners 
when  they  encountered  the  host ;  they  avoided,  usually,  shocking  the 
religious  feelings  of  the  people  not  (as  Gen.  Wilkinson  is  said  once  to 
have  done)  by  kneeling,  which  in  them  would  have  been  idolatrous 
conformity,  but  by  turning  a  corner  or  taking  refuge  in  a  store.  Who 
has  not  heard  or  read  of  the  mighty  pampa  stretching  from  Buenos 
Ayres,  for  a  thousand  miles,  to  the  Andes,  without  hill  or  tree  or 
house,  except  the  occasional  hut  of  the  herdsman,  depressing  the 
traveller  with  the  painful  sense  of  utter  loneliness,  and  in  its  apparently 
endless  undulation  of  verdure,  well  likened  to  the  long  but  low  swells 
of  a  great  sea,  arrested,  in  an  instant,  by  the  fiat  of  Omnipotence,  and 
fixed  forever  ?  Every  facility  in  their  power  was  given  by  the  Director 
and  his  officials  to  the  Commissioners  in  collecting  the  information  for 
which  they  had  been  sent  forth  by  their  government,  and  as  a  mark  of 
very  great  respect,  on  their  intercession,  a  soldier,  under  sentence  of 
death  for  insubordination,  was  pardoned.*  It  would  have  been  in 
character  for  some  of  the  Roman  emperors  to  have  treated  an  ambas 
sador  they  especially  desired  to  honor  with  a  slaughter  of  gladiators. 
As  if  to  give  eclat  to  the  departure  of  the  Commissioners  and  their  arrival 
in  the  United  States,  on  the  eve  of  their  leaving  Buenos  Ayres  was 
received  intelligence  of  the  decisive  battle  and  victory  of  Maypu,  won 
by  its  liberating  army  under  San  Martin,  which  secured  the  independ 
ence  of  Chili.  The  Commissioners  narrowly  escaping  shipwreck  from 
a  pampero,  in  the  port  of  Maldonado,  near  the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata, 
where  the  Congress  had  anchored  to  receive  bullocks,  and  calling  at  St. 

*  Nilcs's  Kegister,  vol.  xiv.  p.  326. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  241 

Salvadore  and  Margaretta,  arrived  at  Norfolk,  after  a  favorable  passage, 
in  July,  1818.  Mr.  Rodney's  report,  communicated  to  Congress  in 
November  of  that  year,  is  an  able  paper,  and  increased  his  reputation. 
Mr.  Graham  made  a  separate  report,  as  did  Judge  Bland,  who,  with  a 
spirit  honorable  to  him,  proceeded  over  land  from  Buenos  Ayres  to 
Chili,  as  the  instructions  of  the  Commissioners  authorized  one  or  more 
of  them  to  do.  Their  reports  presented  the  Argentine  Republic  in  less 
favorable  aspect  than  did  Mr.  Rodney's,  and  they  were  less  sanguine  in 
their  expectations  of  the  success  of  the  South  Americans  in  their  exper 
iments  in  self-government,  but  this  difference  of  their  views  afforded 
their  countrymen  better  means  for  arriving  at  just  conclusions  than  if 
they  had  coincided. 

In  1820  Mr.  Rodney  was  a  second  time  elected  to  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives,  and  received  a  respectable  vote  for  the 
Speakership  of  that  body,  and  in  1822  was  elected  by  the  Legislature 
of  Delaware  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  being  the  first  of  his 
party  who  had  received  this  distinction,  as  he  was  the  first  Democrat 
chosen  to  the  House  Representatives. 

In  1822  it  was  resolved  by  Congress  that  the  "United  Provinces  of 
La  Plata"  ought  to  be  acknowledged  by  the  United  States,  and  in  1 823 
Mr.  Rodney  was  appointed  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  their  govern 
ment.  The  United  States  had  the  honor  of  preceding  Mr.  Canning  in 
his  recognition  of  the  South  American  republics,  one  of  the  three 
measures  on  which  he  rested  his  fame  as  a  statesman,  and  which  was 
received  with  a  burst  of  approbation  from  every  quarter  of  Great 
Britain.  The  frigate  Congress — Commodore  Biddle — was  ordered  to 
carry  Mr.  Rodney  and  his  family  to  Buenos  Ayres.  They  were  con 
veyed  by  a  steamer  to  this  ship,  at  anchor  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Christiana;  an  elegant  dinner  having  been  given  him,  a  few  days  previ 
ous  to  his  embarkation,  by  citizens  of  Wilmington  and  its  vicinity,  in 
testimony  of  their  respect  and  esteem  for  him,  at  which  were  present 
Commodore  Biddle,  and  Hugh  Nelson,  Minister  to  Spain,  who  was  to 
be  landed  from  the  Congress  at  Cadiz.  The  Congress  sailed  from  the 
Delaware  on  the  8th  of  June,  1823,  with  a  fair  wind,  and  arrived,  with 
out  accident,  at  Cadiz,  from  which  port,  having  landed  Mr.  Nelson,  she 
sailed  on  the  3d  of  August.  While  the  friends  of  Mr.  Rodney — their 
hopes  that  a  sea  voyage  would  renovate  his  declining  health  scarcely 
predominating  over  their  fears  that  they  would  see  him  no  more — looked 
anxiously  for  news  of  his  progress,  they  were  astonished  by  intelligence 
that,  by  reason  of  unkind  and  discourteous  treatment  experienced  from 
Commodore  Biddle,  he  had  left  with  his  family  the  Congress  at  Rio  de 
Janeiro,  and  taken  passage  in  a  merchant  vessel  for  Buenos  Ayres. 
Deep  indignation  was  excited  and  expressed.  Commodore  Biddle  was 
assailed  in  the  newspapers,  and  defended,  with  little  judgment,  which 
was  his  misfortune,  not  his  fault,  much  stress  being  laid  on  his  sacrifice 
of  his  own  comfort  to  that  of  his  passengers,  and  on  the  unreasonable 
extent  of  which  Mr.  Rodney  had  incumbered  his  ship  with  his 
furniture,  the  homely  character  of  which  was  sneered  at.  He  was 
even  reproached  for  lumbering  the  Congress  with  agricultural  imple 
ments,  which  he  had  taken  with  him  for  the  honor  of  our  mechanics 
and  the  benefit  of  the  Buenos  Ayreans.  The  Legislature  of  Delaware 
(January  1st,  1824),  by  resolution  unanimously  adopted,  requested 


242  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

their  members  of  Congress  to  use  their  best  efforts  to  have  an  inquiry 
instituted  as  to  the  misconduct  of  Commodore  Biddle.  This  proceed 
ing  would  have  been  more  in  accordance  with  justice,  and  much  more 
effective,  if,  instead  of  assuming  on  ex-parte  evidence,  as  it  did,  the  guilt 
of  the  accused,  it  had  alleged,  as  was  true,  that  there  was  ground  for 
inquiry.  In  a  biographical  sketch  of  Mr.  Rodney  this  occurrence  could 
not,  without  injustice  to  his  memory,  be  omitted,  but  it  is  with  regret  I 
mention  it.  I  would  do  no  wrong  to  the  memory  of  an  accomplished 
gentleman  and  gallant  officer,  and  therefore,  from  what  appeared  to  be 
the  facts  of  the  case,  state  it  thus.  Mr.  Rodney  was  careless  of  forms 
to  a  fault,  and  the  discomfort  from  having  ladies  and  many  children 
passengers  was  great,  and  his  effects  incumbered  the  frigate ;  and  the 
commodore,  a  strict  disciplinarian,  was  fond  of  having  things  ship-shape, 
and  withal  of  irritable  temperament,  while  his  passengers  may  have 
been  too  sensitive.  This  view  palliates,  but  does  not,  in  my  opinion, 
justify  the  conduct  of  Commodore  Biddle  to  a  distinguished  citizen  in 
feeble  health,  to  ladies  and  to  children,  in  some  sense  his  guests,  the 
character  of  which  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  Mr.  Rodney  left 
the  Congress,  a  thousand  miles  short  of  his  destination,  which  he  could 
not  have  done  without  great  inconvenience  and  expense.  The  death  of 
Mr.  Rodney,  and  absence  of  Commodore  Biddle,  delayed  the  inquiry, 
and  the  public  mind  being  soon  occupied  by  newer  occurrences,  though 
asked,  it  was  not  pressed,  and  there  was  no  further  proceeding  in  this 
case.  Let  us  not  forget  that  Biddle  shared  with  Jones  in  the  capture 
of  the  Frolic,  was  the  captor  of  the  Penguin,  and  by  masterly  seaman 
ship  saved  the  Hornet  from  capture  by  a  British  seventy-four,  so  close 
to  him  at  times  during  the  chase  as  to  throw  her  shot  on  his  deck.  His 
grandmother,  when  a  British  officer  tauntingly  said  to  her  (in  1775), 
"the  Americans  should  not  make  war,  for  they  could  find  none  to  lead 
them,"  replied,  "she  had  seven  sons,  whom,  if  necessary,  she  would 
lead  herself  against  their  oppressors."  Two  of  these  sons  fell  in  the 
war  of  our  Revolution  ;*  one  being  blown  up,  in  command  of  the  Ran 
dolph  frigate,  and  an  officer  of  great  promise,  with  his  crew  of  three 
hundred  men,  while  attacking  with  courage  bordering  on  rashness  the 
Yarmouth  British  man-of-war,  of  sixty-four  guns. 

Mr.  Rodney  presented  his  credentials  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
from  the  United  States  on  the  27th  of  December,  1823,  to  the  Governor 
of  Buenos  Ayres,  who  exercised,  under  the  constitution  of  the  Argen 
tine  Republic  (adopted  May  25th,  1819),  the  function  of  its  chief  magis 
trate.  Addresses  were  delivered  by  both,  and  the  reception  was  cordial 
and  imposing. 

The  hopes,  which  Mr.  Rodney  shared  with  a  great  majority  of  his 
countrymen,  that  the  South  Americans  would  prove  their  capability  for 
self-government  have  proved  delusive.  Revolutions,  their  history  traced 
in  characters  of  blood,  have  succeeded  revolutions ;  in  their  beautiful 
country  military  despotisms  have  been  overthrown  only  that  others 
should  be  erected  in  their  stead.  "Liberty,"  exclaimed  the  lovely 
Madame  Roland,  as  her  ruthless  murderers  hurried  her  to  the  scaffold, 
"Liberty,  what  crimes  have  been  perpetrated  in  thy  name  !"  I  add, 


*  Letter  of  Charles  Biddle  to  Aaron  Burr,  Davis 's  Life  of  Burr,  vol.  ii.  p.  235. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  243 

what  follies,  too,  and  of  these  none  greater  than  political  institutions  in 
advance  of  the  intelligence  of  a  nation. 

Mr.  Rodney's  health  gradually  declined,  and  oil  the  10th  of  June, 
1824,  at  six  o'clock  A.M.,  he  died  tranquilly,  surrounded  by  his  family. 
The  Americans  in  Buenos  Ayres  immediately  met,  and  passed  resolu 
tions  appropriate  to  this  mournful  event.  The  government  decreed  that 
a  sepulchral  monument,  to  receive  Mr.  Rodney's  remains,  should  be 
erected  at  the  public  expense.  He  was  interred  in  the  English  cemetery, 
followed  by  his  children,  his  countrymen  then  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
many  of  its  citizens,  preceded  by  the  officers,  civil  and  military,  of  the 
Argentine  Republic,  its  flag  with  that  of  the  United  States  enshrouding 
the  corpse,  which  was  escorted  by  a  military  guard  of  honor,  and 
minute-guns,  during  the  ceremonials,  were  fired  from  the  fort,  and  at 
its  close  a  volley  from  the  battalion  which  formed  the  escort.  All  vied 
in  condolence  with  the  bereaved  family  and  in  rendering  them  kind 
offices. 

On  the  margin  of  the  pampa,  extending  in  its  grandeur  from  the  La 
Plata  to  the  Andes,  moulder,  among  strangers,  the  remains  of  CAESAR 
AUGUSTUS  RODNEY.  I  reiterate  the  wish,  and  the  hope,  before  expressed 
in  this  hall,  that,  by  the  act  of  his  Masonic  brethren,  they  may  have 
their  final  resting-place  in  Wilmington,  beneath  a  monument  worthy  his 
abilities,  his  virtues,  and  his  public  services. 

Non  sibi  sed  pat  rise  vixit. 


IE. 

THERE  was  diversity  of  opinion  in  the  "three  lower  counties  on 
Delaware"  as  to  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  a  change  in  the  existing 
form  of  their  government,  upon  the  recommendation  of  Congress  (May 
15th,  1776),  as  appears  by  the  following  instructions  and  remon, 
strances*  addressed  to  representatives  in  the  General  Assembly,  by 
which  the  election  of  the  Convention  that  framed  the  first  Constitution 
of  the  State  of  Delaware  was  recommended : 

INSTRUCTIONS  OF  THE  SUBSCRIBERS,  FREEMEN,  AND  INHABITANTS  OF  THE 
COUNTY  OF  KENT  ON  DELAWARE  TO  THE  HONORABLE  CJESAR  RODNEY, 
WILLIAM  KILLEN,  JOHN  HASLET,  THOMAS  RODNEY,  AND  VINCENT 
LOCKERMAN,  ESQUIRES,  THEIR  REPRESENTATIVES  IN  ASSEMBLY. 

WJiereas,  The  representatives  of  the  united  colonies  in  North  America, 
assembled  in  Congress  at  Philadelphia  on  the  15th  day  of  May  [177G], 
did  first  declare  "that  his  Britannic  Majesty,  in  conjunction  with  the 
Lords  and  Commons  of  Great  Britain,  has,  by  a  late  act  of  Parliament, 
excluded  the  inhabitants  of  these  united  colonies  from  the  protection  of 
his  crown,  etc.,  and  that  it  is  necessary  that  the  exercise  of  every  kind 
of  authority  under  the  said  crown  should  be  totally  suppressed,  and  all 

*  Pamphlet  of  Timslcon,  pp.  12-15. 


244  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  powers  of  government  exerted  under  the  authority  of  the  people 
of  the  colonies,  etc.;  therefore  resolved,  that  it  be  recommended  to 
the  respective  assemblies  and  conventions  of  the  united  colonies, 
where  no  government  sufficient  to  the  exigency  of  their  affairs  has  been 
hitherto  established,  to  adopt  such  government  as  shall,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and 
safety  of  their  constituents  in  particular,  and  America  in  general  ;" 

And  ivhereas,  It  is  our  opinion  that  our  present  government  is  not 
"sufficient  to  the  exigency  of  our  affairs,"  and  we  have  full  faith  and 
confidence  in  the  virtue  and  wisdom  of  the  Congress,  and  being  con 
vinced  of  the  propriety  and  necessity  of  complying  with  the  above  re 
commendation,  and  not  doubting  but  it  will  answer  the  valuable  purpose 
thereby  intended ; 

We  do,  therefore,  hereby  instruct  and  require  you  to  exert  your 
utmost  virtuous  endeavors,  in  Assembly,  to  have  the  same  complied 
with,  always  saving  to  the  freemen  and  inhabitants  of  this  colony  the 
full  enjoyments  of  their  just  rights  and  liberties,  agreeable  to  the  Con 
stitution,  laws,  customs,  and  usages  of  the  said  colony,  so  far  as  the 
same  are  not  injurious  or  destructive  to  the  union  and  general  safety 
and  happiness  of  the  united  colonies. 

But  in  case  the  House  of  Assembly  should  refuse  or  neglect  to  com 
ply  with  the  above  recommendation,  we  do  further  hereby  instruct  and 
require  you  to  exert  your  utmost  virtuous  endeavors  to  get  the  said 
Assembly  to  direct  the  appointment  of  a  convention  of  this  colony,  to 
be  held  for  the  purpose  aforesaid,  and  not  to  consist  of  less  than  ninety 
members  ;  and  if  this  shall  be  denied,  that  you  then  withdraw  yourselves 
and  dissolve  the  said  Assembly. 

We  trust  that  you  will  discharge  your  duty,  as  before  directed,  with 
the  greatest  fidelity,  and  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  best  conduce  to  the 
happiness  and  safety  of  your  constituents  in  particular,  and  America 
in  general. 

To  THE  HONORABLE  THE  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE  FREEMEN  OF  THE 
COUNTIES  OF  NEW  CASTLE,  KENT,  AND  SUSSEX,  IN  DELAWARE,  IN 
ASSEMBLY  MET.  THE  ADDRESS  AND  REMONSTRANCE  OF  THE  SUB 
SCRIBERS,  INHABITANTS  OF  KENT  COUNTY  ON  DELAWARE. 

Whereas,  To  our  great  concern  and  surprise  we  have  been  informed 
that  a  paper,  called  a  "Petition,  Remonstrance,  or  Instruction,"  to  the 
House  of  Assembly  of  this  government,  has  been  handed  about  among 
the  good  people  of  this  county,  purporting  a  change  in  the  Constitution 
of  this  government,  upon  principles  wrhich  we  conceive  must  be  errone 
ous  and  unsound,  and  by  no  means  supported  or  even  countenanced  by 
the  late  resolution  of  the  Continental  Congress,  entered  into  May  15th, 
1776,  upon  which  resolution,  we  suppose,  said  Petition,  Remonstrance, 
or  Instruction  is  pretended  to  be  founded,  viz.,  "That  it  be  recommended 
to  the  respective  assemblies  and  conventions  of  the  united  colonies, 
where  no  government  sufficient  to  the  exigency  of  their  affairs  has  been 
hitherto  established,  to  adopt  such  government,  as  shall,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  representatives  of  the  people,  best  conduce  to  the  happiness  and 
safety  of  their  constituents  in  particular,  and  America  in  general," 
which  we  conceive  must  refer  only  to  such  colonies  as  are  in  confusion 
from  the  prorogation  or  dissolution  of  assemblies;  and  in  no  measure 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  245 

intended  to  affect  the  good  people  of  this  government,  whose  Assembly 
has  been  and  still  is  competent  and  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  their 
affairs;  and  have  had  all  due  obedience  paid  to  their  acts  and  resolu 
tions  by  their  constituents. 

I3ut  the  movers  of  the  above  Petition,  Remonstrance,  or  Instruction, 
as  we  understand,  having  taken  the  said  resolution  in  a  different  sense 
(as  if  the  Congress  had  intended  another  mode  of  representation  and 
government  than  by  assemblies,  under  which  we  have  long  considered 
ourselves  a  happy  people,  and  which  we  look  up  to  with  reverence  and 
the  warmest  affection),  we  should  think  it  criminal  not  to  declare  to 
your  Honors  our  sentiments,  which  we  are  fully  convinced  are  those  of 
a  large  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  county,  and,  as  we  believe, 
of  this  government. 

We  beg  leave  to  observe  that  the  present  unhappy  disputes,  in  which 
the  colonies  are  involved,  were  begun  for  the  defence  and  preservation 
of  the  chartered  rights  and  privileges  of  the  colonies,  and  their  then 
forms  of  government.  And  we  humbly  apprehend  that  the  changing 
the  Constitution  at  this  critical  period  would  be  acting  contrary  to  the 
avowed  principles  upon  which  the  opposition  was  made  to  the  oppres 
sive  measures  of  the  British  ministry,  would  tend  very  much  to  disunite 
the  people,  and  be  productive  of  the  most  dangerous  consequences. 

The  experience  of  all  ages  and  nations  clearly  manifesting  that  con 
stitutional  changes  never  fail  to  alarm  the  people,  and  rouse  their  fears; 
and  unless  they  are  gone  into  with  the  gre'atest  delicacy,  deliberation, 
and  caution,  and  with  the  entire  approbation  of  the  people  in  general, 
are  attended  with  the  most  violent  convulsions,  often  fatal  to  their 
liberty  and  property. 

We  further  beg  leave  to  say  that  if  the  honorable  House  should 
adopt  our  ideas,  and  determine  to  continue  to  exercise  the  powers  the 
Constitution  has  invested  them  with,  we  arc  firmly  persuaded  they  may 
rely  upon  the  support  of  their  constituents. 

We  therefore  humbly  pray  that  the  House  may  not,  by  dissolving 
itself,  or  otherwise,  yield  up  any  of  the  powers  the  Constitution  hath 
intrusted  them  with,  under  the  pretence  of  conveniency  or  necessity. 
But,  retaining  them  in  their  own  hands,  may  continue  to  exercise  them 
for  the  good  of  their  constituents;  and  we,  as  in  duty  bound,  etc. 

The  issue  of  this  controversy  appears  by  the  following  extract  from 
"Force's  American  Archives"  (4th  Series),  vol.  vi.  (A.D.  1776),  pp. 
883,  884: 

DELAWAKE  ASSEMBLY. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  Counties  of  New  Castle, 
Kent,  and  Sussex  upon  Delaware,  at  New  Castle,  June  14th,  1776,  A.M. 

Mr.  McKean  delivered  in  at  the  chair  a  certified  copy  of  a  resolu 
tion  of  Congress  of  the  15th  of  May  last,  which  was,  by  order,  read, 
and  is  as  follows,  to  wit  : 

"!N  CONGRESS,  May  15th,  1776. 

"Whereas,  His  Britannic  Majesty,  in  connection  with  the  Lords  and 
Commons  of  Great  Britain,  has,  by  a  late  Act  of  Parliament,  excluded 
the  inhabitants  of  these  united  colonies  from  the  protection  of  his 
crown ;  and  ichereas,  no  answer  whatever  to  the  humble  petition  of 


246  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

these  colonies  for  redress  of  grievances  and  reconciliation  with  Great 
Britain  has  been  or  is  likely  to  be  given,  but  the  whole  force  of  that 
kingdom,  aided  by  foreign  mercenaries,  is  to  be  exerted  for  the  destruc 
tion  of  the  good  people  of  these  colonies ;  and  whereas,  it  appears 
utterly  irreconcilable  with  reason  and  good  conscience  for  the  people  of 
these  colonies  to  take  the  oath  and  affirmations  necessary  for  the  sup 
port  of  any  government  under  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  it  is 
necessary  that  the  exercise  of  every  kind  of  authority  under  the  said 
crown  should  be  totally  suppressed,  and  all  the  power  of  government  be 
exerted  under  the  authority  of  the  people  of  the  colonies,  for  the  pre 
servation  of  internal  peace,  virtue,  and  good  order,  as  well  as  for  the 
defence  of  their  lives,  liberties,  and  properties  against  the  hostile  inva 
sion,  and  cruel  depredations  of  their  enemies  ;  therefore 

"  Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  respective  assemblies  and 
conventions  of  the  colonies,  where  no  governments  sufficient  for  the 
exigencies  of  their  affairs  has  been  hitherto  established,  to  adopt  such 
government  as  shall,  in  the  opinion  of  their  representatives  of  the 
people,  most  conduce  to  the  happiness  and  safety  of  their  constituents 
in  particular,  and  of  America  in  general. 

"  Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

"  CHARLES  THOMSON,  Secretary." 

By  special  order  the  same  was  read  a  second  time,  and,  on  motion, 
resolved,  unanimously,  that  this  House  do  approve  this  resolution  of 
Congress. 

Saturday,  June  15th. 

The  following  preamble  and  resolution  were  offered,  and  unanimously 
adopted : 

Whereas,  It  has  become  absolutely  necessary  for  the  safety  of  the 
good  people  of  this  colony  forthwith  to  establish  some  authority  ade 
quate  to  the  exigencies  of  their  affairs,  until  a  new  government  can  be 
formed ;  and  whereas,  the  Representatives  of  the  people,  in  this  As 
sembly  met,  alone  can  and  ought,  at  this  time,  to  establish  such  tem 
porary  authority ;  therefore 

"  Resolved,  unanimously,  That  all  persons  holding  any  office,  civil 
or  military,  in  this  colony,  on  the  13th  of  June,  instant,  may  and  shall 
continue  to  execute  the  same,  in  the  name  of  the  government  of  the 
counties  of  New  Castle,  Kent,  and  Sussex  upon  Delaware,  as  they  used 
to  exercise  them  in  the  name  of  the  King  [of  Great  Britain],  until  a 
new  government  shall  be  formed,  agreeably  to  the  resolution  of  Con 
gress  of  the  fifteenth  of  May  last. 

"  Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

"JAMES  BOOTH,  Clerk  of  Assembly." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  247 

IF1. 
PARTIES  IN  CONGRESS  A.D.  H75. 

MR.  ADAMS  (Diaiy,  pp.  31,  32)  thus  describes  the  two  parties  in 
Congress  at  this  time:  the  favorers  of  independence,  himself,  Samuel 
Adams,  R.  H.  Lee,  Wythe,  and  others,  and  the  cold  party,  who  hesi 
tated  to  vote  for  it. 

Harrison,  of  Virginia,  one  of  this  party,  he  describes  "as  an  indolent, 
luxurious,  heavy  gentleman,  of  no  use  in  Congress  or  committees,  but 
a  great  embarrassment  to  both;  a  kind  of  'nexus  utriusque  mundi;'  a 
corner-stone  in  which  the  walls  of  both  parties  in  Virginia  met.  He 
was  descended  from  one  of  the  most  ancient,  respectable,  and  wealthy 
families  there,  and  set  up  in  opposition  to  R.  H.  Lee,  who  was  very 
unpopular  in  Virginia,  because,  when  a  very  young  man,  upon  his  first 
appearance  in  the  House  of  Burgesses,  he  moved  and  urged  an  inquiry 
into  the  state  of  the  treasury,  by  which  it  appeared  that  large  sums 
had  been  lent  to  influential  families,  who,  being  thus  exposed,  never  for 
gave  him.  Harrison  was  another  Sir  John  Falstaff  in  all  things  except 
his  larcenies  and  petty  robberies,  and  his  conversation  disgusting  to 
every  man  of  delicacy  or  decorum.  General  Washington  chose  him  for 
his  confidential  correspondent.  Harrison,  Pendleton,  and  others  showed 
their  jealousy  of  R.  H.  Lee's  intimacy  with  Hancock  (whom  therefore 
they  courted),  and  Samuel  Adams,  and  myself,  and  their  party,  with 
whom  we  agreed,  and  by  whom  we  kept  a  majority  of  the  Virginia 
delegates  with  us.  Among  them  were  great  divisions  and  jealousies. 
Harrison  courted  Hancock,  and  Hancock*  Duane,  Dickinson,  and  their 
party,  and  leaned  so  partially  to  them  that  Samuel  Adams  became 
very  bitter  against  him.  Jay  and  Wilson,  in  general,  favored  dilatory 
measures." — Writings  of  John  Adams  (Diary),  vol.  i.  pp.  220,  517; 
vol.  ii.  pp.  31,  32,  35,  93. 

*  His  sobriquets  among  the  Tories  were  "Soft  John,"  and  "King  Hancock," 
and  "  Rosy."— Duin/  of  the  American  Revolution. 


248  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


CHAPTER  IV. 


"Washington  recrosses  the  Delaware — Oornwallis  advances  against  him — Cannon 
ade  between  their  armies — Washington  marches  in  the  night  towards  Princeton 
— Battle  of  Princeton — Death  of  Mercer — Haslet  to  the  officers — Results  of  this 
battle — Position  of  British  and  American  armies  through  the  winter  of  and 
until  April,  1777 — Adjournment  of  Congress  to  Baltimore — Letters  of  John 
Evans,  Thomas  Holland,  and  George  Evans  to  George  Read — Messrs.  Read, 
John  Evans,  and  Dickinson  chosen  delegates  of  the  State  of  Delaware  to  Con 
gress — Messrs.  Evans  and  Dickinson  decline  serving — Mr.  Dickinson's  letter 
to  Mr.  Read — Policy  of  France  and  Spain — Letter  of  Mr.  Rodney  to  Mr.  Read — 
Events  after  "Washington  recrossed  the  Delaware,  29th  December,  1776,  to  23d 
January,  3777 — Delaware  militia,  under  Major  Duff,  fulfils  its  tour  of  duty 
and  honorably  discharged — General  Mimin's  letter  to  Mr.  Read— Notice  of 
Major  Duif — Special  election  in  Delaware ;  best  places  for  holding  it — Letter 
of  Thomas  McKean  to  Mr.  Read — Notice  of  Nicholas  Van  Dyke ;  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Read;  delays  his  acceptance  of  admiralty  judgeship — Congress,  at  Balti 
more,  adjourns — Nicholas  Van  Dyke  and  James  Sykcs  elected  delegates  to 
Congress  in  room  of  Dickinson  and  Evans — Mr.  Sykes  takes  his  seat;  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Read,  and  distress  at  his  absence  from  Congress,  and  reflections  thereon 
— Season  for  active  military  operations  approaches — Disposition  of  the  American 
army — Mr.  Read's  active  part  and  influence  in  the  affairs  of  Delaware  as  well 
as  in  Congress — Letters  to  him  of  William  Killen — Painful  uncertainty  as  to 
the  objects  of  General  Howe's  campaign  in  1777;  Philadelphia  his  object; 
endeavors  to  draw  Washington  from  his  strong  position  ;  fails  ;  determines  to 
•move  his  army  by  sea  to  head  of  Delaware  or  Chesapeake  Bays — British  fleet 
sails  from  New  York  ;  no  news  of  it  for  some  time  ;  British  troops  disembark 
at  Elk  ;  move  forward;  Washington  advances  to  meet  them  ;  subsequent  move 
ments  of  both  armies — Battle  of  Brandy  wine — General  Sullivan  ;  remarks  upon 
his  conduct — Speculation  in  regard  to  this  battle,  and  incidents — Wilmington, 
Delaware,  occupied  by  British  troops — President  McKinley  captured — Chief 
magistracy  of  Delaware  devolves  upon  Mr.  Read  ;  then  in  Congress,  at  Phila 
delphia  ;  his  journey  through  New  York  to  Delaware — Letter  of  Colonel 
Bedford  to  Mr.  Read — Crosses  the  Delaware  from  Salem,  New  Jersey — In 
danger  of  capture  by  a  British  ba7-ge — His  escape — State  of  parties  in  Dela 
ware — Gloomy  state  of  public  affairs — Mr.  Read  locates  .his  family  in  Cecil 
County.  Maryland  ;  why — Thomas  McKean's  letter  to  Mr.  Read — During  his 
absence  temporarily  assumed  Presidency  of  Delaware — John  Dickinson  ap 
pointed  brigadier-general;  did  not  act — Incompatible  offices — Letter  of  Theo 
dore  Maurice  to  Mr.  Read  ;  why  inserted — Alexander  Porter  persecuted  as  a 
Tor}T ;  his  letter  to  Mr.  Read — Correspondence  relative  to  President  Mc 
Kinley — Mr.  Read's  letters  to  General  Washington  and  Speaker  of  Congress — 
Thomas  McKean's  letter  to  Mr.  Read — Disturbed  state  of  Sussex  County, 
Delawiire — Armies  retire  into  winter  quarters — British  at  Philadelphia; 
Americans  at  Valley  Forge;  contrast  between  them — General  Smallwood 
with  detachment  of  Continental  troops  ordered  to  Wilmington  to  command 
there;  requisition  on  State  of  Delaware  for  militia  to  reinforce  him;  not 
obeyed;  Mr.  Read's  letter  to  General  Washington;  prevalence  of  party  strife 
— Letter  to  Mr.  Read  of  William  Hooper,  with  notice  of  him — Letter  of 
President  of  Congress  to  Mr.  Read — Notice  of  Henry  Laurens — Thomas 
McKean's  letter  to  Mr.  Read  (12th  February,  1778)— Letter  of  Washington 
to  Mr.  Read — Letter  of  Mr.  Read  to  General  Washington — Mr.  Read's  reply 
to  Mr.  McKean's  letter  cf  12th  February — Mr.  McKean's  reply  to  this  letter 
— Articles  of  Confederation  ;  objections  to  them ;  finally  ratified — Mr.  Read 


tOF   GEOfiGE   HEAD.  249 

declines  Presidency  of  Delaware — Succeeded  by  Ciesar  Rodney — Mr.  Read's 
letter  to  Dr.  Ilench— Paper-money  and  its  depreciation  (note) — Letter  of 
Daniel  McKinly — Mr.  Read's  good  offices  to  effect  his  exchange — Appendix  A, 
fairs — Appendix  B,  roll  of  Captain  Clark's  militia  company -^Appendix  C, 
occurrences  after  the  battle  of  Brandywine — Appendix  D,  letter  of  a  British 
spy — Appendix  E,  Cheney  Clow — Appendix  F,  Valley  Forge — Appendix  G, 
Colonel  Haslet — Appendix  II,  Thomas  McKean — Appendix  G  2,  last  will  of 
Ccesar  Rodney ;  extract  from  and  letter  of,  and  personal  appearance. 

THE  hopes  of  the  final  success  of  their  glorious  resistance 
to  the  attempt  of  the  British  government  to  subjugate  them 
by  force  awakened  in  the  American  patriots  by  the  brilliant 
stroke  of  Washington  at  Trenton  were  increased  tenfold 
by  the  still  more  brilliant  one  at  Princeton.  Recrossing 
the  Delaware,  January  1st,  1777,  the  troops  under  his  im 
mediate  command  being  increased  to  about  five  thousand 
men  by  the  junction  of  Generals  MifHin  and  Cadwallader, 
who  were  ordered  from  Bordentown  and  Crosswix,  General 
Washington  again  occupied  Trenton.  Lord  Cornwallis, 
who  lay  at  Princeton  with  a  body  of  troops,  superior  not 
only  in  number,  but  in  discipline  and  equipments,  marched 
against  him.  As  they  approached  Trenton,  General  Wash 
ington,  at  4  o'clock  P.M.,  January  2d,  crossed  the  Assum- 
pinck,  a  small  creek  flowing  through  Trenton,  and  faced  the 
enemy,  who  attempted,  unsuccessfully,  to  cross  this  little 
stream,  a  warm  cannonade  having  been  kept  up  by  both 
armies  till  night  closed  upon  them.  When  an  immediate 
attack  upon  the  Americans  was  advised  by  Sir  William 
Erskine,  Lord  Cornwallis  is  reported  to  have  jocularly  said 
"  that  he  need  not  risk  a  night  assault,  for  the  fox  was 
secured,  and  lie  only  had  to  bag  7m?>,  which  he  could  surely 
do  next  morning."  Thus  by  his  lack  of  promptitude  and 
daring  this  officer  lost,  as  General  Howe  did  at  Brooklyn, 
the  opportunity  of  defeating,  and  probably  destroying,  the 
American  army.  General  Washington  was  in  a  serious 
dilemma.  If  he  kept  his  position  a  battle  would  be  in 
evitable,  and  the  almost  certain  defeat  of  his  raw  troops ; 
if  he  attempted  to  recross  the  Delaware,  filled  with  floating 
ice,  probably  many  of  his  men  would  be  lost,  perhaps  the 
whole  destroyed,  Jersey  would  be  again  overrun  by  the 
British  troops,  and  the  enormities  they  had  perpetrated 
there  re-enacted,  and  Philadelphia,  to  the  preservation  of 
which  vast  importance  was  attached,  left  uncovered.  It 
was  then  Washington  showed  military  genius  of  the  highest 
order.  While  his  camp-fires,  affording  light  for  his  own 

17 


250  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

movements  and  shrouding  them  from  the  British,  were 
carefully  maintained,  his  sentries  were  at  their  posts,  and 
his  officers*  made  their  rounds,  he,  as  silently  as  was  pos 
sible,  decamped,  the  roads  so  soft  through  the  preceding 
day  as  to  have  made  the  march  of  an  army,  with  artillery, 
over  them  difficult  and  tedious,  having  providentially 
been,  just  before  he  moved,  hard  frozen.  Washington 
marched  circuitously  towards  Princeton,  where  were  posted 
the  17th,  the  40th,  and  55th  British  Kegiments,  under 
command  of  Colonel  Mawhood,  hoping  to  beat  them,  and 
then  to  move,  by  a  rapid  march,  upon  New  Brunswick, 
where  were  the  baggage  and  stores,  to  a  large  amount, 
of  the  British  army,  and,  as  the  result  of  his  manoeuvre, 
to  compel  the  enemy  to  forego  his  inarch  upon  Phila 
delphia,  and  to  recover  New  Jersey.  The  55th  and  17th 
British  Regiments,  on  their  march  to  join  Cornwallis, 
were  encountered  by  the  advance  of  the  American  army, 
under  General  Mercer,  about  sunrise,  near  Princeton, 
and  a  spirited  and  severe  contest  ensued,  in  which  fell 
Mercer  and  Haslet,  Neal,  Potter,  and  Fleming.  Wash 
ington  soon  supported  his  advance  with  the  main  body 
of  his  troops,  and  the  British  were  defeated  with  the  loss 
of  one  hundred  killed  and  three  hundred  taken  prison 
ers,  the  loss  of  the  Americans  being  not  so  much.  If  we  look 
only  to  the  numbers  engaged  and  the  loss  sustained  in  the 
battle  of  Princeton,  we  may  justly  regard  it  as  insignificant; 
but  if  we  consider  the  generalship  of  the  American  com 
mander  and  its  results,  it  may  be  ranked  among  important 
and  decisive  battles.  The  early-morning  slumbers  of  Lord 
Cornwallis  were  disturbed,  and  perhaps  a  pleasing  dream 
of  "  bagging  the  fox"  dispelled,  by  the  booming  of  cannon 
in  the  direction  of  Princeton,  and  trembling  for  the  safety 
of  New  Brunswick,  he  retreated  there  by  a  forced  march, 
and  Lord  Howe  was  compelled  to  relinquish  all  his  posts  in 
Jersey  except  that  town,  and  Amboy,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Raritan,  where,  by  concentrating  his  troops,  he  kept  open 
his  communication  with  New  York,  and  his  army  in  a 
favorable  position  for  a  movement  upon  Philadelphia,  should 
it  become  expedient.  Washington,  through  the  winter,  with 
his  fragment  of  an  army,  reinforced  by  the  militia  of  Penn 
sylvania,  New  Jersey,  and  Delaware,  who  went  and  came 
as  they  pleased,  restrained  the  British  to  the  two  posts 


OF  OEORCTE  READ.  251 

they  held,  skirmishing  constantly  with  their  foraging- 
parties,  threatening  attacks  on  their  lines,  covering  Jersey 
from  reoccupation,  and  animating  its  citizens  to  avenge 
the  outrages  of  the  Hessians  upon  their  persons  and  their 
property. 

Such  was  the  position  of  the  contending  armies  through 
the  winter  of  1777,  and  until  the  month  of  April  of  that 
year. 

Congress  feeling  themselves  insecure  in  Philadelphia, 
which  was  menaced  by  General  Howe,  adjourned,  in  De 
cember,  to  Baltimore.  It  appears  by  the  following  letter 
from  Mr.  Evans  that  Mr.  Read  did  not  immediately  pro 
ceed  to  that  city,  his  attendance  being  necessary  in  the 
Legislature  of  Delaware,  which  sat  in  January  : 


"  January  6th, 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  My  mind  is  so  fluctuated  with  the  present 
appearance  of  affairs,  sometimes  elevated  and  at  other  times 
depressed,  that  I  cannot  form  any  precise  judgment  to 
govern  my  own  conduct  by;  but  upon  a  full  consideration 
of  our  present  circumstances,  notwithstanding  many  diffi 
culties  offer  themselves,  I  think  it  will  be  advisable  for  the 
Delaware  State,  at  this  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly, 
to  complete  their  system  of  government  by  appointing  the 
several  executive  officers;  for  while  matters  lie  in  their 
present  unsettled  situation  government  will  be  weak,  and 
not  able  to  use  its  own  internal  strength,  and  from  appear 
ance  a  vigorous  exertion  must  be  made  the  ensuing  season 
or  all  our  past  labor,  with  our  liberty,  will  be  in  great 
danger  [of  being  lost],  the  people  will  become  uneasy  from 
many  causes,  and  attribute  all  to  the  leaders  of  the  people: 
and  by  having  the  government  established  upon  the  new 
system  some  good  may  be  derived  that  may  prove  of  more 
consequence  than  we  are  yet  able  to  discover. 

"  I  have  wrote  to  Mr.  Jones,  informing  him  of  my  desire 
that  the  General  Assembly  would  appoint  some  other  person 
in  my  stead  to  represent  them  in  Congress,  which  I  hope 
will  be  complied  with.  My  state  of  health  at  present  is 
such  that  I  could  not  with  conveniency  go  abroad.  I  have 
likewise  mentioned  two  or  three  gentlemen  to  Mr.  Jones, 
in  case  officers  are  appointed,  for  justices  of  the  peace,  which 
he  will  show  you,  and  [1]  shall  be  pleased  if  it  meets  with 


252  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

your  approbation.     I  am,  sir,  with  great  regard,  your  sin 
cere  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  EVANS." 

The  writer  of  the  letter  that  next  follows  was  a  captain 
in  the  Delaware  regiment,  and  connected  with  Mr.  Eead 
by  his  marriage  with  Joanna,  daughter  of  the  Reverend 
JEneas  Ross. 

"MoiiRisTOWN,  10th  January,  1777. 

"  SIR, — General  Washington  has  ordered  me  to  remain 
with  the  army  some  time  longer,  until  the  enemy  retire 
into  winter  quarters,  when  I  shall  immediately  rejoin  the 
regiment  at  New  Castle.  I  am  sorry  to  inform  you  of  the 
death  of  Colonel  Haslet,  who  fell  at  Princeton.  I  am  the 
only  one  here  belonging  to  the  Delaware  regiment, — am 
very  much  fatigued  with  the  campaign, — and  having  lost 
my  baggage,  shall  be  happy  to  return  home  to  recruit.  We 
.are  just  informed  that  the  enemy  are  retreating  for  winter 
quarters. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"THOMAS  HOLLAND."* 

George  Evans,  serving  in  a  battalion  of  Delaware  militia, 
wrote  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  MORRISTOWN,  January  16th,  1777. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — After  a  march  of  four  weeks  our  little  bat 
talion  is  now  arrived  at  Morris  town.  Where  we  are  to 
march  to  next  is  not  yet  made  known  to  us.  We  have 
parties  of  the  army  stationed  in  different  places,  for  five  or 
six  miles  round  this  place.  I  make  not  the  least  doubt 
that  you  have  heard  of  the  different  engagements  at  Tren 
ton  and  Princeton,  therefore  will  omit  mentioning  the  par 
ticulars  at  this  time,  more  than  you  may  be  assured  that 
we  have  taken  and  killed  above  two  thousand  of  the  enemy 
since  Christmas,  [and]  our  scouting-parties  are  still  bring 
ing  in  some  strolling  persons,  which  gives  great  spirits.  A 
gentleman  from  New  York,  that  called  at  my  lodging,  in 
forms  me  that  the  Tories  there  are  going  over  to  Long 

'*  Captain  Thomas  Holland  was  a  native  of  England,  had  served  in 
the  British  army,  and  was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Germantown. — Dela 
ware  Gazette,  No.  216,  8th  August,  1789. 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  253 

Island,  and  that  the  enemy  had  evacuated  Forts  Washing 
ton  and  Lee,  and  had  taken  off  all  the  heavy  cannon,  also 
that  a  party  of  General  Heath's  people  had  taken  possession 
of  Harlem.  It  is  generally  reported  here  that  the  Hessians 
are  all  going  on  Staten  Island,  and  have  refused  to  continue 
out  any  longer,  on  account  of  so  many  of  them  having  been 
taken  and  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  wagons  have 
been  sent  from  Brunswick  to  Arnboy,  with  their  baggage. 
under  guard  of  three  hundred  men,  and  that  a  party  of  our 
people  had  fallen  on  their  rear,  scattered  the  guards,  and 
taken  several  of  the  wagons.  It  is  generally  expected  that 
the  English  troops  will  evacuate  Brunswick,  and  leave  us 
in  quiet  possession  of  Jersey.  Our  little  battalion  is  much 
diminished  :  some  have  deserted  shamefully  when  we  had 
gained  great  advantage  over  our  enemies,  and  others  are 
disabled  for  service  by  sickness,  [so]  that  out  of  two  hun 
dred  and  sixty  men  we  have  not  more  than  one  hundred 
and  twenty  left.  I  have  had  the  good  fortune,  through 
God's  mercy,  to  be  very  hearty  and  well  ever  since  I  left 
home,  and  hope  to  see  you  in  a  few  weeks.  My  compli 
ments  to  you,  Mrs.  Read,  and  all  our  friends,  from  your 
friend  and  humble  servant,  etc., 

"  GEORGE  EVANS. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esq.,  New  Castle." 

The  llth  article  of  the  Constitution  of  Delaware,  adopted 
20th  September,  1776,  provided  that  the  delegates  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  should  be  chosen  annually  by 
joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
in  January,  1777,  George  Read,  John  Dickinson,  and  John 
Evans  were  thus  chosen  by  that  body  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress.*  Messrs.  Dickinson  and  Evans  de 
clined  this  high  and  honorable  trust.  Mr.  Dickinson's  rea 
sons  for  so  doing  appear  in  the  following  letter. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  January  20th,  1777. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — The  principal  reason  of  my  coming  to  New 
Castle  from  Kent  was  personally  to  acknowledge  to  the  Gen- 

*  Journal  of  Congress,  April  4th,  1777. 


254  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

eral  Assembly  of  this  State  the  deeply  grateful  sense  I  feel 
of  the  honor  they  have  conferred  upon  me  by  their  appoint 
ing  me  a  delegate  to  Congress,  and  to  inform  them  of  the 
reasons  that  have  prevented  me  from  taking  my  seat. 

"When  I  lately  went  to  Philadelphia  I  expected  to  re 
turn  so  quickly  as  to  find  the  Assembly  still  sitting.  I 
have  received  advice  from  home  that  my  house  has  been  in 
danger  of  being  burnt  by  an  accident,  and  that  Mrs.  Dick 
inson  is  in  great  distress  of  mind.  I  myself  am  exceedingly 
indisposed,  with  a  violent  cold,  and  therefore  think  it  neces 
sary  to  hasten  down  immediately,  so  that  I  hope  I  shall 
stand  excused  for  not  expressing,  in  the  most  respectful 
manner  I  could  think  of,  my  very  great  obligations  to 
this  government. 

"I  beg  of  you,  sir,  to  acquaint  both  Houses  that  when  I 
received  notice  of  their  appointment  I  was  in  a  very  low 
state  of  health,  which  continued  till  the  removal  of  the 
Congress  to  Baltimore.  I  then  was  forced  to  attend  my 
wife  and  child  into  the  country,  where  I  was  of  necessity 
detained  to  provide  them  conveniences  absolutely  requisite 
till  my  journey  to  this  place,  and  now  it  will  by  no  means 
suit  me  to  be  absent  from  them  in  Baltimore. 

"  In  addition  to  these  reasons,  I  will  mention  to  you,  my 
friend,  that  I  know  it  to  be  impossible  for  me  to  render  any 
essential  service  to  my  unhappy  country  at  this  time.  More 
blood  must  be  poured  out,  and  more  calamities  endured, 
before  truth  and  sound  policy  will  have  any  weight  where 
they  ought  to  prevail.  I  therefore  beg  leave,  with  all  possi 
ble  regard,  to  resign  my  place  as  a  delegate.  I  have  con 
versed  on  this  subject  with  two  of  our  friends  in  this  town. 

They  will  speak  to  you  upon  it.     Mr.  M will  inform 

you  of  the  news,  and  of  what  relates  to,  my  dear  sir.  your 
affectionate  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

<:  Please  to  present  iny  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read.  I 
gave  Hines  a  letter  for  you." 

Mr.  Dickinson  writes  very  soon  after  to  Mr.  Read  in  a 
desponding  tone,  caused  or  increased,  it  is  probable,  by  his 
sickness  and  the  late  unpleasant  occurrences  in  his  family, 
from 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  255 

"KENT,  January  22d,  177 1. 

"Mr  DEAR  SIR, — This  winter  is  the  only  time  that  will  be 
allowed  us  to  think  of  peace  before  we  suffer  indescribable 
calamities.  It  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  I  beg  leave  to 
press  this  upon  you.  Do  exert  yourself.  The  event  will 
certainly  prove  that  France  and  Spain  are  more  afraid  of 
our  becoming  a  great  and  flourishing  empire  than  of  our 
being  conquered  by  Great  Britain, — perhaps  they  may  try 
to  prevent  both  these  events.  I  think  the  very  vigor  of 
our  resistance  in  this  our  infancy  will  alarm  those  two 
powers. 

"God  bless  you!  I  am  forced  to  conclude,  being  very 
sick. 

"Your  ever  affectionate, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire,  in  New  Castle." 

The  sagacity  of  the  last  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  above  sur* 
mises  is  proved  by  the  facts  that  France  and  Spain,  hating 
Great  Britain,  and  jealous  of  her  power,  did  try,  and  suc 
cessfully,  to  prevent  her  subjugation  of  her  colonies,  and 
then  endeavored,  during  the  negotiations  for  peace  in  1782, 
"to  coop  them  up,"  as  Franklin  said,  "within  the  Alleghany 
Mountains,"*  and  to  deprive  them  of  the  fisheries,  design 
ing  to  secure  them  and  the  western  country  to  themselves, 
or  to  barter  them  to  England  for  equivalents,  thus  prevent 
ing  the  colonies  from  being  formidable.  This  selfish  and 
unworthy  design  was  defeated  by  the  sound  judgment, 
patriotism,  and  boldness  of  our  envoys  in  signing  the  pre 
liminary  treaty  with  England,  without  consulting  the  Count 
de  Vergenes,  as  they  were  instructed  to  do. 

Caosar  Rodney,  hoping  to  encourage  the  Delaware  militia 
that  had  marched  to  reinforce  General  Washington,  was  on 
his  way  to  them;  when  at  Philadelphia,  he  was  ordered  to 
Trenton  to  take  command  there,f  and  from  that  town  wrote 
as  follows  to  Mr.  Read: 


*  Pitkin's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  p.  149. 
f  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol. 
iv.  pp.  331,  332. 


256  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"January  23d,  1777. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — If  I  may  judge  of  you  by  myself,  I  dare 
venture  to  say  that  you  are  anxious  to  know  what  is  going 
on  in  this  part  of  the  American  world,  and  as  it  gives  me 
pleasure  to  satisfy  the  anxious  mind,  [I]  would  have  wrote 
to  you  long  ere  this,  but  accounts  of  everything  that 
happens  are  so  various  and  perplexing  that  a  man  who 
would  wish  to  support  any  degree  of  credit  dare  relate 
hardly  anything  he  hears.  The  first  engagement  between 
us  and  the  enemy,  after  the  retreat  from  the  North  River, 
was  at  Trenton,  where  I  am  not  only  playing  the  general 
but  commander-in-chief.  It  happened  the  day  after  Christ 
mas,  and  you  well  know  the  circumstances  attending  it. 
On  the  Sunday  following,  which  was  the  29th  of  the  same 
month,  General  Washington  passed  the  Delaware  to  Tren 
ton  again,  and  on  Thursday,  the  second  of  January,  had 
an  advanced  post  of  three  or  four  field  pieces,  covered  with 
six  hundred  musketry,  attacked  on  the  hill  next  towards 
Princeton  by  (as  the  inhabitants  of  this  town  think)  a  body 
of  about  five  thousand  English  and  Hessians.  In  this 
attack  there  was  very  little  done  but  discharging  field-pieces 
at  each  other.  Washington  continuing  to  retreat  in  and 
through  the  town;  the  others,  commanded  by  General  Lord 
Cornwallis,  endeavoring  to  flank  them,  till  Washington  got 
over  the  bridge  in  the  town,  and  on  the  side  where  the 
main  body  of  his  army  lay,  and  where,  by  his  order,  they 
had;  during  the  time  of  his  retreat,  been  fixing  a  number 
of  cannon.  As  soon  as  these  cannon  were  discharged,  the 
enemy  retreated  quite  back  to  the  first-mentioned  hill,  where 
they  remained  till  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning,  expect 
ing  to  be  reinforced,  and  then  to  fight  it  out.  Washington 
with  his  army  lay  in  the  field  and  woods,  between  the  town- 
creek  and  the  river,  till  about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
and  after  having  caused  the  fires  to  be  well  made  up, 
marched  his  army  round  the  head  of  the  creek  into  the 
Princeton  road,  and  so  to  Princeton,  where,  a  little  on  this 
side  the  town,  they  met  the  party  coming  to  reinforce  those 
at  Trenton.  Here  a  warm  engagement  came  on,  first  with 
General  Mercer's  brigade,  who  were  far  advanced,  and 
being  overpowered  with  numbers,  were  obliged  to  retreat, 
after  having  pushed  bayonets.  This  gave  the  remainder 
of  Washington's  army  time  to  form,  and,  after  giving  the 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  257 

enemy  two  rounds,  obliged  them  to  retreat  and  immediately 
after  to  run.  By  this  means  they  lost  all  their  baggage, 
and  only  saved  themselves  by  our  people  being  so  fatigued 
as  not  to  be  able  to  keep  pace  -with  them.  Washington, 
after  following  them  a  little  beyond  Kingston,  filed  off  to 
the  left,  and  then  made  for  Morristown.  Mr.  Tucker,  of 
this  town,  told  me  he  never  saw  men  so  filled  with  astonish 
ment  as  the  English  officers  on  finding  that  Washington's 
army  was  gone.  [They]  wondered  how  he  could  have  got 
over  the  river  without  being  discovered,  etc.  He  says  that 
between  eight  and  nine  o'clock  that  morning  two  of  the 
British  officers  came  to  his  house,  asked  for  breakfast,  and 
just  as  they  had  poured  out  a  dish  of  coffee  heard  the  can 
non,  and  immediately  left  it,  thinking,  as  they  heard  the 
cannon  so  very  plain,  that  Washington  had  engaged  their 
body.  However,  [they]  very  soon  marched  off.  In  this 
last-mentioned  engagement  we  took  about  two  hundred  and 
thirty  prisoners,  and  at  Trenton,  the  day  before,  thirty. 
Since  this  General  Maxwell  has  taken,  at  Elizabethtown, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  prisoners,  and  all  their  baggage, 
to  a  considerable  amount.  Soon  after  he  took  Spanktown, 
about  four  miles  from  Elizabethtown,  towards  Amboy,  on 
the  Sound,  where  he  took  a  few  prisoners,  a  thousand 
bushels  of  salt,  and  some  baggage  of  value.  Colonel  Gur- 
ney,  who  was  sent  by  General  Putnam,  with  five  hundred 
men,  on  to  Monmouth,  has  taken  a  very  large  quantity  of 
stores  that  were  lodged  there  and  guarded  by  Skinner's 
Jersey  volunteers.  Forty  wagons'  load  of  them  have 
arrived  at  Princeton,  and  a  great  quantity  of  cloths  and 
other  English  goods.  There  was  a  skirmish  on  Monday 
last  between  one  of  our  outposts  and  a  superior  number  of 
the  enemy  [in  which]  our  people  drove  them,  and  took 
thirty-one  wagons  and  sixty-five  horses,  and  have  brought 
them  safe  in.  It  is  said  by  those  who  come  from  the  camp 
every  day  that  our  army  increases  very  fast.  I  believe  it 
does  increase  some,  though  great  numbers  are  leaving  it. 
Sure  I  am,  if  none  would  leave  it  for  three  weeks  to  come, 
there  would  be  enough  to  eat  the  enemy  up.  Our  Dela 
ware  militia,  in  number  two  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  I 
sent  to  Princeton  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  yesterday 
[they]  were  ordered  from  there  by  General  Putnam  to 
head-quarters.  I  shall  leave  this  to-morrow,  and  have  the 


258  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

pleasure  to  inform  you  that  I  have  not  been  in  the  least 
unwell  since  I  left  home,  not  even  with  the  asthma.  In 
short,  I  every  now  and  then  conceit  I  grow  fat.  You  may 
readily  suppose  there  is  nothing  very  pleasing  in  a  cold 
winter  campaign,  and  yet,  if  I  could  but  see  those  Parlia 
mentary  robbers  off,  and  my  old  friend  Livingston  restored 
to  his  government,  I  should  be  happy.  Good  God,  what 
havoc  they  have  made !  He  that  has  not  seen  it  can  have 
no  idea  of  it.  The  dead  bodies  of  Colonel  Haslet*  and 
Major  Morris  are  here,  on  their  way  to  Philadelphia  for 
interment.  Thus  ends  a  history  [to  read]  which,  perhaps, 
will  give  you  much  more  trouble  than  real  satisfaction. 
However,  be  that  as  it  may,  you  must  take  it  as  the  poor 
man  took  his  wife,  and  permit  me  to  say,  I  am,  with  the 
greatest  respect,  your  most  obedient  and  most  humble 
servant, 

"dESAR  RoDNEY.f 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  at  New  Castle." 

Major  Duff  returned  home  in  the  winter  of  1777  with 
the  detachment  of  Delaware  militia  that  had  completed 
their  term  of  service  in  Jersey,  bearing  the  very  honorable 
testimonial  of  their  good  conduct  in  the  following  letter 
from  General  Mifflin  to  Mr.  Read : 

PHILADELPHIA,  31st  January,  1777. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  the  pleasure  to  inform  you  that  the 
detachment  of  Delaware  militia,  commanded  by  Major 
Duff,t  from  your  State,  have  served  the  term  of  their  en 
listment  with  credit  to  themselves  and  satisfaction  to  me, 
under  whose  command,  in  New  Jersey,  they  happened  to 
serve. 


*  For  a  notice  of  Colonel  Haslet,  see  Appendix  G. 

f  See  Appendix  G  2. 

j  On  the  march  of  General  Howe  from  the  head  of  Chesapeake  Bay 
to  Philadelphia,  in  1777,  a  skirmish  occurred  between  an  advanced  party 
of  his  army  and  a  detachment  of  Delaware  militia,  at  Cooch's  Bridge, 
in  New  Castle  County.  I  have  heard,  when  very  young,  an  old  bachelor 
uncle  give  an  account  of  this  affair,  at  which  he  was  present,  and  which 
he  called  the  "  battle  of  Cooch's  Bridge."  I  recollect  nothing  of  the 
account,  except  that  Major  Duff  was  in  the  battle,  behaved  with  much 
courage,  and  had  his  horse  shot  under  him.  He  rose  to  the  rank  of 
colonel  in  the  Delaware  militia,  and  was  sheriff  of  New  Castle  County. 


OF  GEOBGE   READ.  259 

"  The  officers  in  particular  deserve  the  thanks  and  esteem 
of  their  country  for  the  readiness  shown  by  them  to  turn 
out  on  all  occasions.  Major  Duff,  by  a  mistake  of  orders, 
was  prevented  from  joining  me  in  the  march  to  Trenton ; 
but  I  have  every  cause  to  believe  that  he  exerted  himself 
on  all  occasions  when  his  duty  and  my  orders  were  clearly 
made  known  to  him,  and  I  do  not  recollect  one  single  in 
stance  in  which  his  spirit  and  zeal  were  not  equal  to  those 
of  any  other  officer  of  my  brigade. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient 
servant, 

"THOMAS  MIFFLIN,  Brigadier- General. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire,  at  Wilming 
ton." 

As  the  27th  article  of  the  Constitution  of  Delaware 
adopted  in  1776  provided  that  the  elections  for  members  of 
the  General  Assembly  should  be  held  October  1st  in  every 
year  after  1777,  the  elections,  as  to  the  time  of  holding 
which  Mr.  McKean  asked  Mr.  Read's  opinion  in  the  fol 
lowing  letter,  were,  I  suppose,  special  ones,  to  fill  vacancies 
in  the  General  Assembly  (as  provided  in  article  5  of  the 
above  constitution),  made,  I  conjecture,  by  the  acceptance 
by  members  of  that  body  of  offices  incompatible  with  their 
seats  therein : 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  waited  with  impatient  expectation 
a  letter  from  you  respecting  the  elections  in  the  several 
counties.  I  have  thought  that  it  would  be  best  to  have 
them  all  on  the  same  day,  and  would  propose  Friday,  the 
25th  day  of  April  next.  In  this  appointment  we  shall 
avoid  all  fairs,*  courts,  etc.,  which  appears  to  me  proper. 

"  Please  to  write  to  me  by  the  very  first  opportunity 
whether  you  approve  of  my  proposition,  and  inform  me 
how  you  expect  to  forward  the  writs  to  the  sheriffs  of 
Kent  and  Sussex ;  if  by  express  one  may  answer. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  THOMAS  McKEAN. 

"  NEWARK,  March  29th,  1777." 

Nicholas  Van  Dyke,  the  writer  of  the  letter  which  next 
*  See  Appendix  A. 


260  LIFE   AND    COERESPONDENGE 

follows,  was  of  Dutch  descent,  a  lawyer  of  eminence,  after 
wards  Governor  of  Delaware,  and  recently  appointed  dele 
gate  to  Congress  and  judge  of  admiralty.  I  have  heard 
from  my  father  that  his  attendants  offering,  when  he  was 
dying,  to  raise  him,  he  motioned  to  them  to  take  the  pillow 
from  his  head. 

"  SIR, — Your  favor,  by  Colonel  Cantwell,  was  handed  me 
last  eve[ning].  I  find  by  the  section  of  the  Constitution 
you  refer  to  an  acceptance  of  [my  appointment  as]  judge 
of  admiralty  would  vacate  my  seat  in  Council.  This  I  did 
not  attend  to  before  the  election ;  but  soon  after  I  examined 
that  section,  and  thereupon  was  immediately  determined 
what  part  to  act :  to  wit,  not  to  accept,  and  for  this  reason, 
that  as  the  electors  of  this  county  have  thought  proper  to 
confide  so  much  in  me  as  to  elect  me  to  a  seat  in  Council, 
I  do  not  choose  to  accept  any  office,  however  lucrative, 
which  would  vacate  that  seat,  unless  I  was  convinced  that 
I  could  in  some  other  department  render  more  important 
service  to  my  constituents,  which  I  am  persuaded  I  cannot 
do  as  judge  of  admiralty;  but  as  some  trouble  may  be 
saved  by  your  not  issuing  a  writ  for  an  election  of  a  mem 
ber  of  Council  at  present,  if  I  was  determined  to  accept, 
you  may,  if  you  choose,  consider  my  answer  as  a  delay  of 
acceptance,  and  then  when  the  Assembly  meets  I  shall 
regularly  give  them  my  answer  to  their  appointment. 

"I  am  pleased  to  hear  Mr.  Sykes  is  gone  to  Congress. 
The  very  distressing  dispensation  of  Providence  to  me  since 
I  saw  you,  and  the  unavoidable  necessity  I  have  thereby 
been  reduced  to,  has  hitherto  prevented  my  leaving  home, 
nor  can  I  possibly  go  until  the  first  of  the  week  after  next. 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  very  humble  servant, 

"NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE. 

"7th  April,  1777. 

"To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Congress  adjourned  at  Baltimore,  February  27th,  to  meet 
in  Philadelphia  on  the  4th  day  of  March. 

John  Dickinson  and  John  Evans  having  declined  to  serve 
as  delegates  to  Congress  from  the  State  of  Delaware,  Nicho 
las  Van  Dyke  and  James  Sykes,  Esquires,  were  appointed 
in  their  room,  and  Mr.  Sykes  appeared  in  Congress,  and 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  261 

presented  his  credentials  on  the  4th  of  April.*     He  wrote 
to  Mr.  Read,  in  almost  intolerable  distress,  from 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  April  10th,  1777. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Yesterday  it  was  agreed  in  Congress  that 
the  subject  of  the  Articles  of  Confederacy  should  be  taken 
up  on  Monday  next,  and  that  two  days  in  each  week  should 
be  employed  therein,  until  that  work  should  be  completed. 
As  this  is  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance,  it  is  certainly 
necessary  that  our  State  should  be  fully  represented,  espe 
cially  as  I  am  by  no  means  competent  to  the  task.  I  there 
fore  most  ardently  wish  you  would  give  your  attendance  in 
Congress,  and.  beg  you  would  write  to  Mr.  Van  Dyke,  press 
ing  his  immediate  repair  hither.  I  am  in  a  most  disagree 
able  situation,  a  stranger  to  every  person,  unable  to  speak 
my  sentiments  in  Congress,  and  no  colleague  to  confer  with 
on  any  subject  that  may  concern  our  State.  There  has 
already  a  matter  been  determined  which,  I  am  afraid,  will 
throw  the  whole  county  of  Sussex  into  confusion  and  dis 
order:  I  think  it  is  the  report  from  the  Board  of  War  that 
an  independent  company  shall  be  raised  in  that  county,  to 
be  stationed  at  Lewistown,  that  Harry  Fisher  shall  have 
the  command;  [and]  if  he  refuse,  he  shall  have  at  least  the 
appointment  of  the  subaltern  officers.  This  was  brought 
in  immediately  on  my  taking  my  seat  in  Congress,  and 
though  I  utterly  disapproved  the  measure,  as  far  as  respected 


Ix  COUNCIL,  February  22d,  1777. 

Whereas,  Nicholas  Van  Dyke  and  James  Sykes,  Esquires,  have  been 
chosen  by  joint  ballot  of  both  Houses  of  the  General  Assembly  to  repre 
sent  the  Delaware  State  in  the  Continental  Congress,  in  the  room  and 
stead  of  John  Dickinson  and  John  Evans,  Esquires  ; 

Resolved,  That  they,  together  with  George  Read,  Elsquire,  or  any  one 
or  more  of  them,  are  hereby  fully  authorized  and  empowered,  for  and  in 
behalf  of  this  State,  to  concert,  agree  to,  and  execute  any  measure  which 
they  or  he,  together  with  a  majority  of  the  Continental  Congress,  shall 
judge  necessary  for  the  defence,  security,  interest,  and  welfare  of  this 
State  in  particular,  and  America  in  general,  with  power  to  adjourn  to 
such  times  and  places  as  shall  appear  most  conducive  to  the  public 
welfare  and  advantage.  Sent  for  concurrence.  Eodem  die,  in  Assembly 
read  and  concurred. 

Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

SLAYTOR  CLAY,  Clerk  of  the  Council. 

Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  iii.  p.  87. 


262  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Fisher,  I  could  not  open  my  mouth  in  objection.*  This, 
sir,  shows  the  necessity  of  some  person  being  here  who  has 
the  inclination  and  power  to  object  to  and  show  the  im 
propriety  of  such  appointments.  I  am  totally  unfit  for  it, 
and  am  miserable  on  the  occasion. 

"From  what  we  hear  from  head-quarters  it  seems  to  be 
the  prevailing  opinion  that  the  enemy  intend  to  [move]  to 
Philadelphia  in  a  very  short  time,  that  the  fleet  are  coming 
into  this  river,  and  that  boats  are  preparing  for  the  army  to 
cross  the  same. 

"I  should  be  exceedingly  sorry  to  press  you  upon  a  sub 
ject  that  I  know  at  this  time  is  disagreeable, — I  mean  your 
attendance  here;  but  it  appears  to  me  to  be  indispensably 
necessary  to  our  State  that  you  should  be  in  Congress:  with 
respect  to  myself  it  is  so  much  so  that  without  your  attend 
ance  I  cannot  think  of  staying, — alone  I  will  not.  I  hope 
you  will  excuse  this  incoherent  scrawl.  Please  to  present 
my  best  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read.  It  would  give  me  great 
pleasure  to  receive  a  line  from  you.  I  am,  in  the  mean  time, 
dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"JAMES  SYKES. 

"For  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Wilmington. 
"  Favored  by  John  Evans,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Sykes,  judging  from  his  letter, — its  style,  orthography, 
and  penmanship, — was  well  educated,  and  we  must  believe, 
from  the  fact  of  his  appointment  to  Congress,  not  only 
highly  respectable  but  influential.  His  constituents,  per 
haps,  thought  that,  as  his  colleagues  were  lawyers,  his  not 
being  a  speaker  would  not  matter.  If  they  so  thought, 
they  were  mistaken;  but  he  might,  and  I  have  no  reason 

*  "  The  Board  of  War  brought  in  a  report,  which  was  taken  into 
consideration :  Whereupon,  Resolved,  That  blank  commissions  be  sent 
to  Henry  Fisher  of  Lewistown,  with  orders  to  raise,  on  the  Continental 
establishment,  an  independent  company,  for  the  safeguard  of  the  pilots, 
and  the  persons  and  goods  of  other  well-affected  inhabitants  and  sub 
jects  of  these  States,  residing  or  being  near  Lewistown,  and  the  coasts 
of  Delaware  Bay;  and  that  Mr.  Fisher  be  informed  that  if  he  chooses 
to  accept  the  command  of  the  company,  Congress  will  confirm  him 
therein  ;  but  if  he  should  decline  the  acceptance  thereof,  that  he  should 
be  requested  to  nominate  a  proper  person  to  fill  that  station,  and  that 
in  either  case  he  nominate  the  subalterns." — Journal  of  Congress,  vol. 
iii.  p.  89. 


GEORGE   READ.  263 

to  doubt  he  did,  by  voting  with  judgment  and  integrity, 
and  on  committees,  serve  them  well.  Still,  his  situation,  as 
he  describes  it, — that  of  a  man  out  of  place, — is  pitiable  in 
deed.  He  was  in  an  assembly  more  imposing  (august  may 
not  be  too  strong  a  word)  than  any  he  ever  before  had  sat 
in,  without  colleagues,  knowing  no  one.  A  measure  was  pro 
posed,  he  disapproved  it.  because  it  would  probably  disturb 
a  whole  county  of  his  State;  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the 
delegate  from  Delaware  as  the  member  from  whom  they 
had  a  right  to  expect  full  and  reliable  information  on  the 
pending  resolution,  his  self-possession  was  utterly  lost,  his 
tongue  was  paralyzed;  ashamed  and  mortified,  he  sat  mute, 
and  the  resolution  was  adopted.  Thomas  McKean,  in  a 
letter  to  Mr.  Read  of  December  6th,  1777  (see  post),  says, 
"The  honorable  attachment  of  James  Sykes,  Esquire,  to 
the  virtuous  and  glorious  cause  in  which  his  country  is 
engaged,  will  no  doubt  induce  him  to  give  his  immediate 
attendance  in  Congress."  From  this  passage  I  infer  that 
Mr.  Sykes  was  an  ardent  Whig.  Mr.  Read  was  in  his 
seat  in  Congress  April  25th,*  when  he  was  appointed 
with  Messrs.  Roberdeau  and  Sergeant  "to  confer  with  the 
President  and  Council  of  Delaware,  and  enforce  the  neces 
sity  of  calling  out  fifteen  hundred  of  the  militia  of  that 

State."t 

The  season  for  active  operations  had  now  corne.  What 
would  be  the  enemy's  plan  of  campaign  ?  Would  Burgoyne 
transport  his  army,  by  sea,  to  New  York,  or,  capturing 
Ticonderoga,  force  his  way  to  Albany,  and  get  the  command 
of  the  Hudson?  and  would  General  Howe  co-operate  with 
him,  or  would  he  move  against  Philadelphia?  It  was 
necessary  that  the  Americans  should  be  prepared  to  defend 
Ticonderoga,  the  Highlands  of  New  York,  and  Philadelphia 
against  two  armies,  superior  not  only  numerically,  but  in 
discipline  and  equipment.  Washington  so  posted  his  troops 
as  to  make  them  available  for  the  defence  of  the  points  the 
British  might  choose  to  attack.  The  northern  army  was 
posted  between  Ticonderoga  and  Peekskill,  and  there  was 
a  detachment  at  Peekskill  from  which  the  northern  army 
could  be  reinforced,  while  the  junction  of  this  detachment 


*  And  be  may  have  been  in  it  sooner, 
f  Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  iii.  p.  124. 


264  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

with  the  troops  under  Washington's  immediate  command 
could  be  effected  without  difficulty.  Washington's  army, 
which  he  had  endeavored  to  increase  by  every  means  in  his 
power  (its  effective  men  being  about  five  thousand),  was  in 
May  drawn  out  of  its  winter  quarters,  and  posted  in  a 
fortified  camp  at  Middlebrook,  behind  and  near  the  road 
that  led  from  New  Brunswick  to  Philadelphia.  Painful 
was  the  suspense  in  which,  for  several  weeks,  the  Americans 
were  held. 

Mr.  Read,  while  sharing  with  his  colleagues  in  Congress 
the  burden  of  Continental  affairs,  was  at  the  same  time 
taking  an  active  and  leading  part  in  those  of  Delaware.* 
The  organization  of  the  courts  constituted  by  the  Constitu 
tion  of  Delaware  adopted  in  1776  had  been  delayed  by  its 
disturbed  condition,  and  the  next  following  letter  shows 
what  had  been  done  towards  accomplishing  it: 

"DOVER,  July  19th,  1777. 

"DEAR  SIR, — General  Rodney,  last  evening,  delivered 
me  a  commission  from  the  President,  constituting  me  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Delaware  State,  as  also  another  appointing 
me,  with  Messrs.  Evans  and  Cook,  Justices  of  the  Court  of 
Oyer  and  Terminer  and  General  Jail  Delivery  of  the  same 
State,  by  the  last  of  which  I  flatter  myself  Mr..  Evans  has 
agreed  to  accept  of  a  seat  in  those  courts;  and^therefore,  I 
shall  take  without  delay  the  necessary  qualification,  and 
enter  upon  the  performance  of  the  duties  of  the  places 
assigned  me;  but  how  reputably  for  myself  or  advantage 
ously  for  the  State  I  shall  execute  the  arduous  task,  Heaven 
only  knows.  However,  the  scarcity  of  proper  persons  to 
fill  every  department,  if  it  does  not  make  my  undertaking 
those  affairs  absolutely  necessary,  will,  at  least,  justify  the 
measure. 

"The  President,  in  his  letter  to  General  Rodney  accom 
panying  these  commissions,  mentions  the  necessity  of  hold 
ing  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  speedily  for  the  trial  of 
some  State  criminals  now  confined  in  Dover  jail,  and  I  am 
informed  that  there  are  some  others  confined  in  the  jail  at 

*  His  name  appears  in  the  "  List"  (Appendix  B)  returned  June  24th, 
1777,  by  Captain  Clark,  of  able-bodied  associators  "ready  and  willing 
to  march"  against  the  enemy. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  265 

New  Castle,  charged  with  other  capital  offences.  I  shall, 
therefore,  take  order  forthwith  for  the  removal  of  those  in 
Dover  to  New  Castle,  in  order  to  their  being  tried  in  that 
county  where  they  are  said  to  have  committed  the  offences. 
But  previous  to  the  holding  a  court  for  this  purpose,  I  shall 
be  obliged  to  you  for  informing  me  when  will  be  the  most 
proper  time  to  hold  it,  in  regard  to  the  officers  and  Jthe  in 
habitants  of  the  county  in  general?  Will  Monday  the  4th 
of  next  month  be  too  soon?  Pray  give  me  your  opinion 
by  the  first  opportunity  of  a  conveyance.  Or  if  you  will 
mention  the  business  to  Mr.  Evans,  I  shall  agree  to  any 
time  he  may  think  proper  to  appoint  for  holding  this  court, 
and  for  that  end  he  may  make  out  the  precept,  returnable 
what  day  he  pleases,  and  send  it  to  me  in  order  to  my 
signing  it. 

"You  will  please  also  to  consult  Mr.  Yeats  whether  he 
would  choose  to  be  appointed,  or  rather  continued,  clerk  of 
the  Supreme  Court  for  the  county  of  New  Castle.  I  have 
already  had  an  application  for  the  appointment  to  this 
office  from  another  gentleman,  to  whom  I  have  given  a 
grant  of  it  in  case  Mr.  Yeats  should  not  incline  to  be  con 
tinued,  but  if  he  should,  I  am  very  willing  to  give  him  the 
preference. 

"  We  have  been  for  some  time  past  apprehensive  of  being 
rudely  disturbed,  on  some  unlucky  night,  at  Dover  by  some 
of  those  bullying,  swearing  fellows  belonging  to  the  men-of- 
war,  encouraged  thereto  by  bad  men  among  ourselves,  but 
General  Rodney  is  now  taking  some  measures  for  our  better 
security.  Ever  since  the  apprehending  the  criminals  in 
our  jail,  mentioned  above,  we  have  been  threatened  by  the 
men-of-war's  people  with  the  most  direful  vengeance,  through 
resentment  for  confining  their  friends  in  prison. 
"I  am,  sir,  your  most  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  KILLEN. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  letter  next  introduced,  and  indeed  Mr.  Read's  cor 
respondence,  indicates  his  influence,  the  confidence  reposed 
in  the  soundness  of  his  judgment,  and  his  readiness  to  ex 
ercise  it  for  the  benefit  of  his  friends  and  the  public. 

18 


266  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"DOVER,  August  9th,  17 7 T. 

"DEAR  SIR,— Your  letter  of  the  20th  ult.,  if  the  whole 
tenor  of  my  conduct  through  life  has  not  sufficiently  evinced 
it,  informs  me  that  Mr.  Theodore  Maurice,  of  your  town, 
was  perfectly  right  when  he  told  me,  about  seventeen  years 
ago,  'that  I  was  not  a  cunning  man.'  I  will  explain  myself. 
Some  weeks  since  a  commission  appointing  me  Chief  Justice 
of  this  State,  and  another,  constituting  myself  and  Messrs. 
John  Evans  and  John  Cook  Justices  of  the  Courts  of  Oyer 
and  Terminer  and  General  Jail  Delivery,  to  be  held  for  the 
several  counties  of  this  State,  came  to  General  Kodney's 
hands;  with  which  he  acquainted  me.  Upon  seeing  Mr. 
Evans's  name  in  this  letter,  I  took  it  for  granted  that  he  had 
agreed  to  this  appointment,  and  I  therefore,  without  hesita 
tion,  accepted  of  both  commissions,  took  the  necessary 
qualifications,  and  got  to  dealing  with  the  Tories,  and  have 
been  engaged  with  them  almost  ever  since.  Now,  sir,  you 
know  that  I  had  made  Mr.  Evans's  acceptance  a  condition 
precedent  to  that  of  my  own,  and  yet  without  any  other 
evidence  of  his  acceptance  than  barely  seeing  his  name  in 
the  commission  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  I  uncunningly  swore 
in,  and  have  fully  proved  that  Mr.  Maurice  was  not  mis 
taken  in  his  opinion  of  me  mentioned  above;  indeed,  your 
letter  not  only  satisfies  me  that  Mr.  Evans  has  not  yet 
qualified,  under  those  commissions,  but  has  caused  a  great 
doubt  in  me  that  he  never  will. 

"  This  new  task  is  really  too  arduous  for  me.  In  essaying 
to  execute  it  I  find  both  a  want  of  knowledge  and  firmness 
of  mind — the  latter  most.  There  have  been  about  forty 
persons,  men  and  women,  apprehended  in  the  Head  of  Sus 
sex  and  the  lower  part  of  New  Castle  on  suspicion  of  trading 
with  the  men-of-war  in  Delaware  [Bay].  Some  of  these  I 
discharged,  after  examining  of  them,  some  I  let  go  upon 
bail,  others  I  committed,  but  have  since  admitted  them  to 
bail,  except  two,  now  confined  in  New  Castle  jail.  As  to 
one  of  these  two  last,  namely,  Jonas  Edingfield,  I  am  much 
importuned  by  his  sister  and  other  relations  to  admit  him 
lo  bail  also.  His  offence  is  furnishing  the  men-of-war  with 
fresh  provisions.  He  has  confessed  the  fact.  Is  not  this 
act  an  aiding  and  comforting  the  enemies  of  the  State?  I 
have  ventured  to  call  it  so  in  my  proceedings  with  these 
offenders.  I  have  no  friend  here  of  whose  knowledge  I  can 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  267 

avail  myself  in  any  difficulty  that  occurs  to  me  in  my  new 
office,  and  I  find  myself  often  at  a  loss  in  endeavoring  to  do 
the  duties  of  it.  Add  to  this  that  a  milkiness  of  disposition 
bears  down  the  little  understanding  I  have,  and  they  main 
tain  a  perpetual  war  between  them.  Pray  inform  me  whether 
I  ought  to  admit  Edingfield  to  bail.  He  has  an  old  mother, 
a  wife,  and  seven  children,  and  his  circumstances  but  low. 
Also,  what  offence  is  he  guilty  of  who  is  apprehended  with 
live  stock  and  sundry  other  provisions  on  his  way  to  traffic 
with  the  enemies  of  the  State,  and  acknowledges  that  that 
was  his  intention?  Your  answer  to  these  questions  will 
much  oblige  a  quondam  brother  in  distress.  I  intend  to  pro 
pose  the  holding  of  a  court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  for  Kent 
County,  about  the  first  week  in  next  month,  to  my  brother, 
I  wish  I  could  say  my  brethren.  The  apprehending  these 
Tories  is  really  like  cutting  off  the  hydra's  head.  I  hear 
Colonel  Richardson  has  seized  several  of  them.  Captain 
Murphy  has  made  prize  of  a  Tory's  boat,  who  had  given 
out  that  the  enemy  had  taken  her,  loaded  with  grain,  going 
to  Philadelphia,  some  time  last  June ;  but  it  has  lately  been 
discovered  to  me,  on  oath,  that  he  voluntarily  fell  in  with 
a  man-of-war's  boat  at  the  mouth  of  Mispillion,  has  made 
a  voyage  to  New  York  with  her  since,  and  carried  on  a 
constant  trade  with  the  enemy.  I  have  also  made  out  pre 
cepts  for  seizing  a  number  of  those  trading-gentry  in  Sussex. 
I  intend  to  send  herewith  the  commission  of  Oyer  and 
Terminer,  and  earnestly  request  you  to  write  to  Mr.  Evans 
to  qualify  and  urge  him  thereto  by  putting  him  in  mind  of 
the  distraction  and  anarchy  that  prevail  in  our  little  State 
for  want  of  the  due  execution  of  the  laws.  Sure  he  cannot 
be  indifferent  to  a  measure  so  interesting  to  his  country. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your^most  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  KILLEN.* 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 


*  My  lack  of  information  in  regard  to  William  Killen  has,  in  some 
measure,  been  lately  and  unexpectedly  supplied. 

In  the  grave-yard  of  the  Presbyterian  church,  Dover,  Delaware, 
which  I  lately  visited,  to  sec  the  monuments  of  two  distinguished  citi 
zens  of  my  native  State,  recently  erected  there,  while  scanning  with 
interest  (July  5th,  1859)  the  tombs  around  me,  I  came  upon  an  an 
cient  stone,  which  covers  the  grave  of  William  Killen,  and  read  upon 
it  that  "  he  was  born  in  Ireland  A.D.  1722  ;  landed  in  America  A.D.  1737  ; 


268  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Sir  William  Howe's  object  in  the  campaign  of  1777  was 
Philadelphia.  His  first  plan  was  to  march  to  that  city 
through  Jersey,  fighting  the  American  army,  if  it  attacked 
or  could  be  forced  to  engage  him.  He  deferred  opening  the 
campaign  till  the  country  could  afford  food  and  forage  for 
his  soldiers  and  horses,  and  was  delayed  until  the  latter  end 
of  May  by  the  non-arrival  of  tents  and  camp-equipage  from 
Europe.  Early  in  June,  with  the  British  troops,  less  those 
left  to  garrison  New  York,  he  moved  from  that  city  to  New 
Brunswick,  arid  on  the  14th  of  that  month  marched,  in  two 
strong  columns,  towards  the  river  Delaware,  intending  and 
hoping,  by  awakening  fears  for  Philadelphia,  which  would 
by  this  movement  be  shown  to  be  his  object,  to  draw  Gen 
eral  Washington  from  his  strong  position  at  Middlebrook 
to  offer  him  battle,  but  the  wariness  of  the  American  com 
mander  foiled  him;  he  remained  on  the  strong  ground  he 
occupied,  and  General  Howe,  being  of  opinion  that  there 
would  be  too  much  risk  in  his  attempt  to  cross  the  Dela 
ware,  with  a  strong  force,  on  its  west  bank,  in  front,  and 
Washington's  army  in  his  rear,  determined  to  move  his 
army  by  sea  to  the  Delaware  or  Chesapeake  Bays,  from 
eitherof  which  great  estuaries  Philadelphia  could  be  reached 
by  a  inarch  of  a  few  days  through  a  country  traversed  by 
no  rivers  of  magnitude  and  in  general  of  level  or  undulating 
surface,  and  therefore  offering  no  strong  positions  to  the 
army  that  might  oppose  his  march. 

Early  in  July  the  British  fleet  stood  to  sea  from  New 
York,  with  the  British  army  on  board,  their  destination 
being  carefully  concealed  from  the  Americans.  The  his 
tory  of  the  period  of  their  uncertainty  as  to  the  point  to 
which  the  winds  were  wafting  their  foe,  has  to  me  a  thrill 
ing  interest.  The  storm  of  war  must  fall  somewhere;  but 
what  portion  of  their  goodly  heritage  was  to  be  devastated?' 
None  could  answer  this  question — the  suspense  was  that  of 
a  people — the  common  current  of  thought  was  interrupted 
— there  was  a  pause  in  the  business  of  life — the  timid  quailed, 
"the  boldest  held  their  breath  for  a  time."  This  suspense 


was  first  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Delaware  under  her 
Constitution  adopted  A.D.  177G,  and  until  the  adoption  of  her  second  Con 
stitution  A.D.  1792;  and  then  Chancellor  of  Delaware  until  he  resigned 
this  office  A.D.  1802.  Died  October  5th,  1807,  aged  85  years/' 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  269 

was  removed,  July  30th,  by  intelligence  that  the  British 
fleet  was  within  the  Delaware,  but  only  to  be  renewed  by 
information  that  it  had  left  that  bay,  and  stood  to  the  east. 
It  was  next  descried,  August  7th,  a  short  distance  south  of 
the  capes  of  the  Delaware,  and  from  that  day  until  almost 
the  end  of  that  month  nothing  was  known  of  its  movements. 
How  terrible  must  have  been  this  uncertainty !  Howe 
might  have  intended  to  draw  Washington  to  the  Delaware, 
and  then,  retracing  his  course,  ascend  the  Hudson,  surprise 
the  posts  in  its  vicinity,  in  order  to  co-operate  with  the  ex 
pected  army  of  Burgoyne,  or  he  might  menace  the  Eastern 
States,  or,  transferring  the  war  to  the  South,  attack  Charles 
ton.  The  British  fleet  entered  the  Chesapeake  August  16th, 
sailed  to  the  head  of  that  bay,  where,  on  the  25th  of  that 
month,  the  British  army  was  landed  unopposed.  General 
Howe,  with  one  division,  marched  on  the  27th  to  Elk,  and 
on  the  28th  his  vanguard  occupied  Gray's  Hill,  two  miles 
east  of  it,  while  Knyphausen  moved  by  Cecil  Court  House, 
with  two  brigades,  within  eight  miles  of  the  Christiana,  and 
Grant  was  left  with  six  battalions  to  guard  the  baggage  and 
keep  open  communication  with  the  fleet.  Generals  Corn- 
wallis  and  Knyphausen  united  their  divisions  on  the  3d  of 
September,  at  Pencader,  and  on  the  8th  General  Grant, 
having  shipped  the  tents  and  baggage  left  in  his  charge, 
joined  them.  A  large  amount  of  stores  had  been  removed 
from  Elk  by  a  detachment  of  Delaware  militia.  General 
Washington  in  the  mean  time  had  not  been  idle.  As  soon 
as  he  received  intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  General  Howe's 
army  in  the  Chesapeake  he  marched  his  army,  August  24th, 
through  Philadelphia,  to  encourage  his  friends  and  intimi 
date  the  disaffected  by  its  number  and  martial  appearance. 
He  halted  for  a  short  time  at  the  Brandywine,  and  thence 
moved  to  Wilmington  and  encamped  on  the  hills  around  it. 
General  Maxwell's  light  corps  had  been  attacked  by  Corn- 
wallis,  and  forced  to  retreat  over  White  Clay  Creek.  On 
Sept.  5th  the  American  army  was  posted  behind  Red  Clay 
Creek,  with  its  right  wing  on  Newport,  and  its  left  on 
Hockesson,  the  Maryland  and  Delaware  militia  having  pre 
viously  been  ordered  to  annoy  the  enemy's  rear,  and  that 
of  Pennsylvania  to  co-operate  with  the  American  army  in 
front.  General  Howe  endeavored  by  a  feigned  attack  in 
front  to  mask  his  movement  to  turn  the  American  right. 


270  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

As  this  movement,  if  successful,  would  have  inclosed  Wash 
ington  in  a  narrow  strip  of  territory,  where  he  could  have 
been  forced  to  fight  at  disadvantage,  or  the  enemy  might 
occupy  the  heights  of  Brandywine,  and  cut  him  off  from 
Philadelphia,  and  capture  it  without  a  battle,  he  therefore, 
soon  after  nightfall,  marched  to  the  Brandywine,  crossed 
it  the  day  after,  and  posted  his  army  on  the  high  grounds 
north  of  it,  leaving  Maxwell's  light  infantry  on  the  southern 
side  of  this  stream  to  skirmish  with  the  British.  Works 
were  hastily  thrown  up  on  a  hill  north  of  Chad's  Ford, 
where  Wayne's  artillery  corps  was  posted.  At  the  lowest 
ford,  Pyle's,  two  miles  south  of  Chad's,  was  stationed  one 
thousand  Pennsylvania  militia  under  General  Armstrong, 
and  the  right  of  the  army,  Sullivan's  division,  of  three 
thousand  men,  was  so  extended  as  to  cover,  it  was  expected, 
the  fords  above,  of  which  there  were  several,  while  the 
centre,  Green's  division  (the  brigades  of  Weedon  and  Muh- 
len burg),  was  on  the  hills  in  the  rear,  whence  it  could  rein 
force  the  wings  as  might  be  necessary.  His  army  thus  in 
order  of  battle,  Washington  awaited,  with  his  characteristic 
equanimity,  the  onset  of  the  British.  A  thick  fog  covered 
the  country  for  some  hours.*  General  Knyphausen  moved 
about  nine  A.M.  from  Kennett  Square,  and  was  attacked  by 
Maxwell's  troops,  who,  after  fighting  bravely,  were  driven 
by  superior  numbers  across  the  Brandywine.  Knyphausen 
then  kept  up  a  heavy  cannonade,  under  cover  of  which  he 
made  feigned  attempts  to  pass  Chad's  Ford,  the  object  of 
these  feints  being  to  divert  the  attention  of  the  Americans 
from  the  real  point  of  attack.  Two  small  streams,  rising 
in  Pennsylvania,  after  a  course,  generally  from  west  to  east, 
of  about  five  miles,  unite  and  form  the  Brandywine.  At 
the  confluence  of  these  streams  the  Brandywine  flows  from 
west  to  east,  about  seven  miles,  to  Chad's  Ford,  and  thence, 
about  twelve  miles  more,  to  the  point  where  it  empties  into 
the  Christiana,  two  miles  below  Wilmington.  The  great 
water-power  of  the  Brandywine  before  the  American  Revo 
lution  was  only  applied  to  the  manufacture  of  flour,  from 
the  wheat  of  Delaware  and  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland, 
esteemed  the  best  raised  in  the  colonies.  The  main  body 
of  the  British,  led  by  Cornwallis,  Howe  being  with  it, 

*  September  llth. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  271 

marched  up  the  Lancaster  road,  at  dawn  of  day,  to  pass 
Trimble's  and  Jefferis  Fords  above  the  point  of  confluence 
of  the  branches  of  the  Brandywine,  and  so  turn  the  right 
of  the  Americans,  while  Knyphausen  amused  them  with 
his  bluster.  This  stratagem,  skilfully  devised  and  executed, 
was  completely  successful,  screened  as  the  movement  was 
by  the  fog  and  the  wooded  hills  along  the  Brandywine,  and 
aided  by  the  neutrality,  or  disaffection  to  Congress,  of  the 
Quaker  population  of  this  region,  who  withheld  information 
of  the  movement  of  the  main  body  of  the  British  army.  At 
last,  about  mid-day,  this  movement  was  reported  by  Colonels 
Bland  and  Ross  to  Washington,  who  at  once  boldly  deter 
mined  to  pass  Chad's  Ford,  and  attack  with  his  centre  and 
left  wing  Knyphausen,  while  Sullivan  was  ordered  with 
Sterling  to  cross  the  Brandywine,  and  assail  the  left  of 
Cornwallis's  column ;  but  before  this  plan  could  be  carried 
into  effect  Sullivan  received  and  communicated  intelligence 
that  the  enemy  were  not  near  the  Forks  of  Brandywine, 
and  that  therefore  Cornwallis's  movement  was  a  feint  to 
draw  the  American  army  across  the  creek,  there  to  find 
itself  engaged,  not  with  a  division,  but  the  whole  British 
army.  It  was  not  until  two  o'clock  P.M.  that  the  uncer 
tainty  produced  by  contradictory  intelligence  was  dissipated. 
The  enemy  had  turned  the  American  right,  and  were  mov 
ing  eastwardly.  Sullivan's,  Sterling's,  and  Stephens's  divi 
sions  were  ordered  to  change  front,  so  as  to  face  the  ad 
vancing  column  of  the  British.  Wayne  was  ordered  to 
remain  at  Chad's  Ford,  and  with  Maxwell's  light  troops 
hold  Knyphausen  in  check,  and  Green's  division,  with 
General  Washington,  was  stationed  as  the  reserve  between 
them. 

As  the  British  advanced  toward  Birmingham  Meeting- 
House  they  were  surprised  and  amused  by  a  number  of 
Quakers  mingling  with  and  moving  forward  with  them. 
The  spectacle  was  magnificent, — a  great  body  of  disciplined 
troops  inarching  in  military  order,  the  scarlet  uniforms,  and 
muskets  and  bayonets,  bright  as  silver,  gleaming  in  the  sun, 
which  shone  unclouded.  It  had  a  fascination  for  these 
simple  rustics,  who  followed  on,  all  fear  swallowed  up  by 
curiosity,  till  the  battle  began,  about  4  o'clock  P.M.  They 
were  surprised  by  the  smooth  and  white  skins  of  the  British 
officers,  mostly  short  and  portly  men,  neat  and  clean,  and 


272  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

elegantly  attired,  in  strong  contrast  to  the  dingy  uniforms 
and  gaunt  forms  of  the  Americans,  who  had  passed  the 
preceding  winter  under  privations  and  discomforts  to  which 
ordinary  patriotism  and  fortitude  would  have  succumbed, 
while  their  enemies  were  housed,  warmly  clad,  and  well 
fed.  They  came  upon  a  group  of  mounted  officers,  flashing 
in  scarlet  and  gold ;  one  of  these  is  prominent,  evidently  a 
general,  of  large  body,  on  a  stately  charger,  but  reduced  in 
flesh,  his  features  coarse  and  large,  and  his  mouth  fallen  in 
from  loss  of  teeth ;  it  was  Sir  William  Howe.  The  fields 
before  them  were  red  with  the  British  regiments  moving 
rapidly  forward,  arid  covered  with  the  knapsacks  and  blan 
kets  of  which  they  had  disencumbered  themselves.* 

The  troops  under  Sullivan,  unfortunately,  to  prevent 
Duborre's  brigade  from  being  on  the  right  of  them,  made 
such  a  wide  circuit  as  to  delay  so  much  his  getting  up  his 
men  that  they  were  not  formed  when  attacked.  The  fight 
was  animated  for  some  time,  but  the  right  first  wavered 
and  then  gave  way,  followed  by  the  left  wing;  and  the 
centre,  though  it  fought  bravely,  could  not  long  endure  the 
whole  fire  of  the  British,  and  broke  also.  General  Green, 
with  his  division,  moving  forward  so  rapidly  as  to  clear  five 
miles  in  fifty  minutes,  most  gallantly  covered  the  retreating 
Americans,  opening  his  ranks  for  them  to  pass  behind,  and 
then  closing ;  and  about  dusk,  at  a  defile  near  Dilworthtown 
(chosen  by  Washington  for  making  a  stand,  if  necessary,  on 
a  previous  reconnoissance),  after  a  gallant  fight,  much  of  it 
with  the  bayonet,  checked  the  farther  advance  of  Howe, 
and  then  withdrew  his  division  in  good  order.  His  able 
and  brave  stand  diverted  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  from 
Wayne,  who  had  resisted  the  attacks  of  Krryphausen  until 
the  enemy  appeared  on  his  right,  when,  knowing  from 
this  fact  Sullivan's  defeat,  he  took  the  road  to  Chester, 
where  the  whole  American  army  remained  through  the 
night  of  September  llth,  and  retreated  the  next  day  to 
Philadelphia.  The  American  loss  in  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine  was  about  nine  hundred,  killed,  wounded,  and  prison 
ers,  and  that  of  the  British,  as  stated  by  themselves,  five 
hundred. 

General  Sullivan  was  unjustly  censured  for  sending  the 

*  Townsend's  Account  of  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  pp.  21,  24,  26. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  273 

false  (as  it  proved)  intelligence  which  induced  the  counter 
mand  of  the  order  that  he  should  cross  the  Brandy  wine  and 
attack  the  enemy,  for  had  he  withheld  it,  and  Washington 
passed  that  stream,  as  he  would  have  done,  to  encounter 
not  Knyphausen  alone,  but  the  whole  British  army,  in  case 
of  defeat,  his  men  being  pushed  into  the  Brandy  wine  in  his 
rear,  a  total  rout  must  have  ensued.  Though  Sullivan  re 
tained  the  confidence  of  Washington,  and  was  by  him  and 
other  superior  officers  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  defect  of 
vigilance  and  activity  in  guarding  the  fords  of  Brandy  wine, 
yet  I  cannot  divest  myself  of  the  inclination,  at  least,  to  the 
opposite  opinion.  General  Sullivan,  I  think,  was  too  much 
occupied  with  the  responsibility  of  his  charge,  and  how  he 
should  screen  himself  from  censure,  and  was  not  of  that 
high  order  of  men  who  forget  self  when  great  public  in 
terests  are  at  stake.  He  posted  troops  at  several  fords  and 
was  careful  to  communicate  all  intelligence  he  received 
to  Washington,  but  made  no  extraordinary  effort,  as  he 
should  have  done,  to  obtain  it,  especially  as  he  expressed 
and  repeated  the  opinion  that  the  attempt  would  be  made 
to  turn  the  American  right.*  As  the  fords  by  which  the 
British  crossed  were  distant  from  him  but  five  miles,  an 
officer  vigilant  and  enterprising  as  the  emergency  required, 
might  have  terminated  the  uncertainty  as  to  their  move 
ment  in  one  hour.  He  with  a  blamable  facility  concluded, 
upon  the  statement  of  an  utter  stranger,  that  there  were 
no  fords  above  Buffington's,  and  by  Dr.  Darlington's  letter,  re 
cently  published  by  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  it 
appears  he  left  a  ford  unguarded,  over  which  a  party  of 
British  passed,  this  ford  being  above  Buffington's. 

I  cannot  refrain  from  the  speculation  ^  what  would  have 
been  the  result  had  Washington's  bold  plan  of  crossing  the 
Brandy  wine  and  attacking  the  British  been  executed."  He 
would,  I  think,  have  beaten  and  driven  Knyphausen  before 
him,  being  numerically  so  much  superior,  and  then  all 
further  good  result  would  have  depended  upon  his  being 
able  to  restrain  the  pursuit  of  the  flying  Hessians  in  time 
to  recross  in  good  order  and  form  on  the  best  ground  to  re 
ceive  the  attack  of  Cornwallis.  In  any  case,  most  likely, 
such  was  the  superiority  of  the  British  in  number,  but  much 


*  In  his  letter  to  John  Hancock,  October  Gth,  1777. 


274  LIFE   AND    GOERESPONDENGE 

more  in  discipline  and  equipment,  that  they  would  have 
won  the  battle,  but  the  Americans  would  have  retired  suffer 
ing  less  loss  and  inflicting  greater  than  they  did  suffer  and 
inflict,  and  the  success  over  Knyphausen  would  have  been 
a  set-off  against  Howe's  victory.* 

On  the  13th  of  September,  Wilmington,  in  the  State  of 
Delaware,  was  occupied  by  a  detachment  of  the  British 
army.f  Dr.  McKinley,  the  President  of  that  State,  made 
prisoner;  and  the  chief  magistracy,  vacated  by  this  un 
toward  event,  devolved,  by  virtue  of  article  seven  of  the 
Constitution,  upon  Mr.  Read.  He  was  in  his  seat  in 
the  Continental  Congress  when  he  received  intelligence  of 
this  event,  which  constrained  him  to  enter  upon  a  new 
sphere  of  duty,  made  arduous  by  the  number  of  Tories  and 
refugees  in  his  little  State,  and  the  British  armed  ships  in 
her  waters.  It  was  impracticable  to  pass  from  Philadelphia 
to  Delaware  on  the  western  side  of  the  river,  because  the 
British  occupied  the  whole  pass  from  thence  into  the  penin 
sula.  Mr.  Read  was  therefore  compelled  to  take  his  journey 
along  the  Jersey  shore  of  the  river  Delaware,  and  brave  the 


*  The  Quakers  I  have  mentioned,  their  curiosity  still  overpowering 
their  prudence,  after  having  viewed  the  contest  afar  off,  as  soon  as  it 
ceased,  with  strange  temerity,  ventured  on  the  field  of  battle  to  gratify 
their  morbid  desire  to  scan  its  horrors.  They  soon  aided  in  carrying 
the  wounded  to  Birmingham  Meeting-House,  a  simple  building,  of  a 
single  story,  with  a  steep  roof,  adjoining  its  bury  ing-ground,  the  declin 
ing  sun  illuminating  the  green  mounds  of  the  dead,  distinguished  by  no 
tombstones,  then,  as  now,  proscribed  by  the  Friends  as  worldly  vanities, 
especially  out  of  place  in  grave-yards.  The  spectacle  of  suffering  within 
this  temporary  hospital  no  doubt  strengthened  their  faith  in  the  tenet  of 
their  sect  that  all  war  is  unlawful.  They  were  especially  attracted  by 
the  grim  preparations  for  an  amputation.  The  tourniquet  was  applied, 
and  the  surgeon  grasped  his  knife,  when  he  paused  to  ask  for  wine  or 
brandy  to  administer  to  the  patient,  a  British  officer.  "  I  need  neither," 
exclaimed  this  brave  man,  "for  my  spirits  are  enough  excited."  At 
that  moment  one  more  prudent  than  the  other  Quakers  warned  them 
that  the  picket-guards  were  being  set,  and  if  they  lingered  longer  their 
egress  from  the  battle-ground  would  be  cut  off.  I  cannot  but  wish  they 
had  stayed  till  the  amputation  was  performed  and  reported  its  result.  I 
hope  the  brave  Englishman  survived  to  be  gladdened  by  the  sight  of 
the  white  cliffs  of  Albion,  and  long  shared  the  provision  the  wise  policy 
of  the  British  government,  with  no  niggard  hand,  has  made,  whenever 
health  or  limb  or  life  has  been  lost  in  her  service. —  Townsend's  Account 
of  the  Battle  of  Brandywine,  pp.  25-27. 

f  See  Appendix  C. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  275 

risk  of  crossing  it.  He  left  Philadelphia  September  26th, 
as  the  British  army  entered  it,  and  joined  his  family,  then 
in  New  Jersey,  and  soon  afterwards  they  commenced  their 
homeward  journey.  While  prosecuting  it,  he  received  the 
following  letter  from  Colonel  Bedford.  This  letter  is  with 
out  date,  but  must  have  been  written  in  the  beginning  of 
October,  as  the  election,  which  he  mentions,  must  have  been 
held  (as  provided  by  article  twenty-seven  of  the  Constitu 
tion)  on  the  first  day  of  that  month: 

X 

"  SALEM,  Saturday  evening1. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — On  our  arrival  at  this  place,  found  a  craft 
ready  to  receive  goods,  and  convey  them  to  Port  Penn, 
which  opportunity  we  made  use  of,  and  had  our  wagons 
unloaded  at  the  wharf,  and  [the  goods]  put  on  board  the 
vessel,  [which]  set  off  about  four  o'clock,  and  [I]  expect  by 
this  time  she  is  got  over.  Early  to-morrow  morning  we 
shall  set  off,  in  a  row-boat,  from  this  place,  if  the  weather 
permits.  A  Mr.  Harris,  ship-builder,  from  Wilmington,  is 
the  owner  of  both  boats,  and  if  you  come  here  inquire  for 
him. 

"I  have  just  heard,  by  George  Parker,  that  Mr.  McKean 
and  Colonel  Patterson  have  retired  from  our  county  on 
hearing  that  some  attempts  were  preparing  for  making  them 
prisoners. 

"The  election  was  opened,  and  held  at  Newark*  by  a 
very  few  people,  and  [I]  have  just  seen  a  ticket  which  I 
inclose  you. 

"  Two  or  three  boats,  at  different  times,  have  come  over 
this  day  from  the  other  side.  There  is  no  news  from  our 
army.  I  understand  eight  ships-of-war  are  at  Billingsport. 
The  Lizard  frigate  lays  at  New  Castle,  on  board  of  which 
Thomas  Clark,  of  New  Castle,  is  a  prisoner.  He  was  taken 
out  of  his  house  about  midnight  and  carried  on  board. 

"I  shall  endeavor  to  let  you  hear  from  me  as  soon  as  I 
arrive  on  the  other  side  the  river,  after  making  some  inquiry 
of  the  situation  [of  affairs].  Mr.  Bail,  who  takes  this, 
promises  to  forward  it  to  you.  I  leave  my  horse  here. 

*  Instead  of  New  Castle,  as  by  law  appointed,  because  the  British 
men-of-war  off  that  place,  or  near  it,  made  it  unsafe,  if  not  impractica 
ble,  to  hold  this  election  there. 


276  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

I  have  no  opportunity  of  getting  him  over  at  this  time. 
[1]  expect  in  a  day  or  two  he  will  be  sent.  I  am  at  Mr. 
Burrow's,  and  think,  if  you  come  here,  it  will  be  the  most 
suitable  house  for  you.  Please  remember  us  to  all  our 
friends. 

"I  am  your  affectionate  brother, 

"G.  BEDFORD. 

"To  GEORGE  READ.  Esquire. 
"At  Mr.  Howell's,  near  Roads  town." 

On  the  13th  of  October,  1777,  Mr.  Read  arrived  with  his 
family  at  'Salem,  New  Jersey,  and  procured  a  boat  to  con 
vey  them  across  the  Delaware,  there  about  five  miles  wide. 
At  this  time  there  were  several  British  men-of-war  lying  at 
anchor  off  New  Castle.  The  boat  had  almost  reached  the 
Delaware  shore,  when  she  was  descried  by  the  enemy,  who 
immediately  despatched  an  armed  barge  in  pursuit  of  her. 
The  tide  being  unfortunately  low,  the  boat  grounded  so  far 
from  the  beach  that  it  was  impossible  for  Mr.  Read  and  his 
family  to  land  before  their  pursuers  were  upon  them.  There 
was  only  time  to  efface  every  mark  on  the  baggage  which 
could  excite  any  suspicion  that  Mr.  Read  was  not,  as  he 
represented  himself,  a  country  gentleman,  returning  to  his 
home.  The  officer  who  commanded  the  boat  was  of  no 
higher  rank  than  that  of  boatswain,  and  the  presence  of 
Mr.  Read's  mother,  wife,  and  infant  children,  gave  sufficient 
probability  to  his  story  to  deceive  sailors,  who,  guileless 
themselves,  are  not  prone  to  suspect  deception.  The  honest 
and  kind-hearted  tars  assisted,  with  great  glee,  in  land 
ing  the  baggage,  and  carrying  the  ladies  and  children  on 
shore. 

Wherever  there  has  existed  government,  unless  despotic, 
there  have  been  parties,  owing  sometimes  to  honest  differ 
ence  of  opinion,  sometimes  to  oppression,  ambition,  disap 
pointment,  or  a  factious  spirit.  It  may,  I  think,  be  assumed 
that  the  parties  in  Delaware  up  to  the  time  of  the  stamp- 
act  were  proprietary  and  anti-proprietary.  In  support  of 
that  act  there  was  so  insignificant  a  minority  that  the  voice 
in  favor  of  its  repeal  may  with  truth  be  called  unanimous. 
This  unanimity  existed  until  the  great  measure  of  inde 
pendence  was  proposed  and  adopted.  The  opponents  to 
independence  were  slow,  even  after  it  was  proclaimed,  to 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  277 

abandon  all  hope  of  accommodation  with  the  mother- 
country,  to  which  from  habit  they  looked  with  affection, 
and  which,  from  extravagant  notions  of  her  power  and 
resources,  they  regarded  as  invincible  by  a  power  so  feeble 
as  that  of  Congress.  Some  of  the  opponents  of  independ 
ence,  but  they  were  comparatively  few,  openly  or  covertly 
sided  with  Great  Britain,  but  the  majority  of  them  were 
only  lukewarm  in  suggesting,  adopting,  and  executing  meas 
ures  of  defence  or  attack  against  the  enemy.  These  were 
treated  by  the  violent  Whigs  with  the  usual  injustice  of 
parties :  they  were  branded,  as  if  they  were  undoubted 
royalists,  with  the  opprobrious  epithet  of  Tory,  when  they 
assumed  to  be,  and,  I  believe,  truly  were,  moderate  Whigs. 
They  were  sometimes  subjected  to  violent  and  cruel  treat 
ment  :  for  example,  Clark,  a  member  of  Assembly  for  Kent, 
and  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
was  pilloried  and  egged  for  expressing  in  the  Committee  of 
Safety  of  that  county,  the  opinion  "  that  accommodation 
with  Britain  was  possible."  And  subsequently  on  his  way 
to  New  Castle  was  forcibly  prevented  by  a  militia  company 
from  taking  his  seat  in  the  General  Assembly.  In  April, 
1777,  John  Hancock  in  a  letter,  a  copy  of  which  is  among 
Mr.  Read's  papers,  informs  President  McKinley  "that  the 
danger  of  an  immediate  insurrection  in  Sussex  County,  Dela 
ware,  from  the  inimical  spirit  manifested  by  a  considerable 
portion  of  the  inhabitants,  has  induced  Congress  to  desire  that 
those  among  them  who  have  shown  disaffection  to  America 
may  be  secured,  in  hopes  that  their  wicked  designs  may  be 
thereby  defeated."  Insurrection  had  not  only  been  appre 
hended  but  had  repeatedly  occurred  both  in  Kent  and  Sus 
sex  Counties,  but  especially  in  Sussex,  where  the  disaffected 
to  Congress  were  most  numerous.  With  the  British  armed 
vessels  in  the  Delaware  Bay  and  River  the  royalists  were  in 
constant  and  close  communication,  and  concealed  and  aided 
emissaries  from  these  vessels,  who  deceived  or  corrupted 
ignorant  persons,  and  instigated  them  to  rebellion ;  while 
payment  in  hard  money  for  cattle,  grain,  and  vegetables 
was  an  almost  irresistible  temptation  to  illicit  traffic  in  these 
articles.  The  ardent  and  active  Whigs  were  exposed  to  a 
great  peril.  The  State  was  infested  with  spies?*  who  fur- 

*  Sec  Appendix  D. 


278  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

nished  lists  to  the  British  of  the  most  forward  Whigs,  and 
these,  at  least  in  the  vicinity  of  the  bay  and  river,  were 
liable  to  be  seized  by  armed  parties  from  the  English  men- 
of-war,  and  carried  from  their  beds  to  these  floating  prisons. 
Mr.  Read's  influence  with  the  moderate  Whigs  was  great, 
and  was  ever  wielded  by  him  wisely,  desirous  as  he  was  to 
lessen  party  bitterness,  to  protect  the  weak  from  oppression 
and  cruelty,  and  unite  all  his  fellow-citizens  in  defence  of 
their  rights, — a  difficult  task,  when,  as  was  the  case,  obsti 
nate  men,  of  opposite  opinions  as  to  the  expediency  of  laws, 
chose  to  obey  such  only  as  they  thought  proper,  while 
others,  delighting  in  the  petulance  of  censure,  shrunk  from 
the  exertions  necessary  to  reform  and  amend.* 

Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  in  Delaware  when  Mr.  Read 
was  summoned  from  his  seat  in  Congress  to  take  the  helm 
of  government,  and  when  he  looked  beyond  his  own  depart 
ment  he  found  little  to  encourage  him,  for  the  aspect  of 
things  in  general  was  gloomy.  These  were,  indeed,  in  the 
classic  language  of  the  Revolution,  the  times  that  tried  men's 
souls:  the  battle  of  Brandywine  had  been  lost,  Philadelphia 
occupied  by  the  British,  the  attack  at  Germantown,  though 
almost  a  victory,  had  failed,  and  the  fathers  of  their  coun 
try  having  fled  before  their  triumphant  enemy,  were  de 
liberating  at  York,  in  Pennsylvania,  then  a  small  and 
obscure  village. 

Mr.  Read  located  his  family  in  Cecil  County,  Maryland, 
not  only  because  it  was  a  place  of  security,  but  because  it 
was  the  residence  of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Reverend  Wil 
liam  Thompson,  Rector  of  St.  Stephen's  parish,  in  that 
county  .f 

Thomas  McKean,  unquestionably  patriotic  and  bold,  but 
sometimes,  perhaps,  severe  and  intolerant,  soon  after  the 
battle  of  Brandywine  took  upon  him,  as  Speaker  of  the 
House  of  Assembly,  agreeably  to  article  seven  of  the  Consti 
tution,  the  presidency  of  Delaware,  vacant  by  the  capture  of 
Dr.  McKinley  and  the  absence  of  Mr.  Read.  In  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Read,  of  the  26th  September,  1777,  he  informs  him 


*  See  Appendix  E. 

f  Two  of  the  sons-in-law  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross  had  the  same 
name,  the  clergyman,  above  mentioned,  and  General  William  Thomp 
son,  though  not  kinsmen. 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  279 

of  this  step,  and  the  reasons  for  it,  details  his  official  acts, 
and  resigns  the  office. 

"SiR, — The  captivity  of  the  President,  your  absence  at 
Philadelphia,  and  not  hearing  from  you,  the  distressed 
situation  of  the  Delaware  State,  being  without  a  head  or 
body  (the  militia  being  dispirited  and  dispersed),  and  the 
love  I  bore  the  virtuous  part  of  the  people,  added  to  a  sense 
of  duty,  induced  me  on  Monday  last  to  take  the  command- 
in-chief  as  President.  With  the  approbation  of  the  Privy 
Council  I  have  ordered  the  whole  of  the  militia  to  be  in 
readiness  to  march  at  an  hour's  warning,  and  one-half  thereof 
to  be  called  out  into  actual  service  to  continue  for  seven 
days,  the  last  'of  which  to  be  relieved  by  the  other  half,  and 
to  be  posted  at  such  places  as  the  colonels  or  commanding 
officers  of  each  battalion  should  direct:  and  to  continue  this 
rotation  until  further  orders  from  the  Commander-in-chief. 
When  thus  collected,  being  the  easiest  service,  and  the 
most  inviting,  and  of  course  most  likely  to  be  complied  with, 
I  had  it  in  view  to  reduce  the  number  of  posts,  and  to 
strengthen  a  few,  so  as  to  have  a  respectable  body  of  men 
near  the  enemy,  etc.  I  have  with  the  like  approbation 
issued  a  proclamation  to  insure  the  holding  an  election  of 
Assemblymen,  etc.  for  New  Castle  County.  With  a  pros 
pect  of  deriving  advantage  from  it,  we  made  a  promotion 
in  the  militia,  by  making  Mr.  Rodney  major-general,  [and] 
Messrs.  Dagworthy,  Dickinson,  and  Patterson  brigadiers, 
and  passed  a  vote,  from  the  necessity  of  the  case,  to  borrow 
upon  the  credit  of  the  State  three  thousand  pounds  from 
Congress,  or  any  person  or  persons  who  may  be  willing  to 
lend  it.  This  is  the  sum  of  what  has  been  done  in  Council. 
I  have  given  general  orders  to  the  militia  accordingly,  wrote 
to  General  Rodney  for  the  Dover  Light  Horae,  or  at  least 
six  of  them,  to  join  General  Patterson,  and  by  letter  spirited 
up  General  Dagworthy.  This,  except  riding  through  the 
county,  and  private  letters  written,  is  all  I  have  been  able 
to  effect,  except  taking  deserters,  and  a  few  Tories ;  the 
last  either  escaped  or  were  discharged  on  giving  caution. 

"As  you  are  now,  I  am  told,  coming  into  the  State,  I 
must  beg  leave  to  resign  my  command,  nothing  being  more 
distressing  to  my  private  affairs,  or  to  my  mind,  as  Chief 
Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  than  to  contimie  longer  in  it. 


280  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Wishing  you  all  manner  of  success  in  saving  our  country 
in  general,  and  the  Delaware  State  in  particular, 

"I  remain,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"THOMAS  McKEAN. 

"Lunn's  Tavern,  September  26 th,  1777. 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

I  have  found  among  Mr.  Read's  papers  the  commission 
of  John  Dickinson,  as  brigadier-general  of  Delaware  militia, 
with  this  indorsement  in  Mr.  Read's  handwriting: 

"Mr.  Dickinson  resigned  this  commission  the  19th  of 
December,  1777,  not  having  acted  under  it. 

"G.  READ,  F.  P." 

The  student  of  the  history  of  the  American  Revolution 
is  startled  when  he  reads  of  offices,  which  appear  to  him 
incompatible,  held  by  the  same  person,  and  of  assumptions 
of  power  by  public  bodies  which,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  the 
careful  and  accurate  description  and  separation  of  powers 
and  their  depositories,  seem  to  him  to  have  been  usurpa 
tions, — for  example,  Mr.  Read  was  at  the  same  time  Presi 
dent  of  Council  and  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  Mr.  McKean  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania  and  Speaker 
of  the  Delaware  House  of  Assembly.  The  convention  that 
framed  the  first  constitution  of  Delaware,  besides  what  they 
were  appointed  to  do,  did  other  things  proper  to  the  execu 
tive  and  judicial  departments  of  government,  and,  in  the 
language  of  a  recent  historian,*  "the  Congress  of  1775 
entered  upon  the  exercise  of  a  comprehensive  authority,  in 
which  supreme  executive,  legislative,  and  in  some  cases 
judicial  functions  were  united,  authority  without  formal 
sanction  or  fixed  limits  except  the  ready  obedience  of  a  large 
majority  in  most  of  the  colonies."  These  anomalies  may 
have  been  tolerated  as  necessities,  and  necessities  they  were; 
and  the  people,  I  think,  were  neither  shocked  nor  surprised 
at  assumptions  of  power  by  office-bearers,  because  they  had 
no  fears  that  these  fiduciaries,  the  champions  of  their  rights, 
would  betray  the  confidence  they  had  reposed  in  them. 

I  venture  to  insert  the  next  letter,  though  I  anticipate 
objection  to  it  as  altogether  without  interest  or  importance. 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  p.  77. 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  281 

It  is,  to  be  sure,  only  an  urgent  request  of  a  benevolent 
person  for  the  interposition  of  Mr.  Read's  good  offices  in 
behalf  of  a  good,  useful,  and  inoffensive  man,  taken  forci 
bly  and  without  excuse  (being  a  non-combatant)  from  his 
family  and  business,  and  who  would  be  ruined  if  not  imme 
diately  released.  This  case  produces  a  more  vivid  feeling 
of  the  evils  of  war  than  general  descriptions,  however 
highly  wrought,  of  the  calamities  of  which  it  is  the  prolific 
parent,  although  deduced  from  many  examples. 

"Sin, — The  Light  Horse,  as  I  understand,  took,  yester 
day,  Captain  Nicholls,  master  of  one  of  the  packets,  whose 
universal  benevolence  and  charity  have  recommended  [him] 
to  all  who  knew  him.  He  has  long  sailed  in  the  employ 
of  the  post-office  to  Carolina,  where  he  is  well  known  to 
Mr.  Gadsden,  and  most  of  the  gentlemen  there.  His  em 
ploy  [men  t]  makes  him  neither  a  member  of  the  army  or 
navy;  and  as  he  has  a  large  family  his  detention  here 
(which  can  be  of  no  service  to  the  general  cause)  will  be 
his  utter  ruin,  as  his  place  will  be  immediately  filled  with 
another.  I  do  therefore  earnestly  beg  and  entreat  you,  if  you 
have  any  friendship  for  me,  that  you  will  endeavor  to  effect 
his  release,  for  which  the  enlargement  of  Mr.  Patterson,  then 
a  member  of  the  Legislature  here,  may  serve  as  a  precedent; 
but  if  this  cannot  be  obtained,  I  hope  you  will  permit  such 
necessaries  as  he  may  want  may  be  sent  him.  I  would  not 
urge  this  request  did  I  not  know  the  goodness  of  his  heart, 
for  good  men  only  are  the  objects  of  my  good  wishes.  Your 
heart,  I  am  sure,  will  excuse  this  trouble  from,  sir,  your 
sincere  friend,  and  much  obliged  humble  servant, 

"THEO.  MAURICE. 

"November  5th,  1777. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

On  the  back  of  this  letter  is  written :  "  Letter  from  Theo. 
Maurice,  Esquire,  etc.  Note.  Captain  Nicholls  was  sent  to 
camp  before  this  was  delivered  to  me. 

"G.  R." 

Mr.  Read's  little  State,  lately  traversed  by  a  hostile 
army,  her  chief  town  occupied  by  the  enemy,  and  her 
whole  water-front  incessantly  annoyed  by  their  armed 

19 


282  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

vessels,  was  now  startled  by  intelligence  that  the  British 
fleet  had  sailed,  steering  for  the  bay  and  river  Delaware. 

"SiR, — His  Excellency  General  Washington  informs  me 
that  a  fleet  of  thirty-six  sail  has  left  Staten  Island  to  join 
General  Howe,  and  requests  that  I  would  endeavor  to  get 
the  earliest  information  of  their  arrival  in  the  river,  and 
transmit  it  to  his  Excellency  or  to  me.  I  am,  with  esteem, 
your  most  obedient  servant, 

"JAMES  POTTER.* 

"CAMP,  November  10th,  1777. 

"To  GEORGE  READ,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Delaware  State." 

This  letter  has  indorsed  upon  it :  "From  General  Potter. 
Answered  forthwith." 

Many  persons,  I  have  no  doubt,  suffered  the  injurious 
treatment  of  which  the  writer  of  the  next-inserted  letter 
complains,  and  it  is  proof  of  the  disturbed  and  unhappy 
state  of  society  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  unfortunate 
man.  He  does  not  state  the  charges  against  him,  but  they 
probably  were  correspondence  with  the  enemies  of  his 
country,  and  supplying  them  with  fresh  provisions. 

"SiR, — I  am  sorry  to  trouble  you  at  this  time,  but  the 
public  good  in  this  unsettled  state  of  affairs,  to  which  you 
have  always  paid  the  strictest  attention,  will  be  a  sufficient 
reason  for  my  communicating  my  grievances  to  you,  re 
questing  an  opportunity  of  a  hearing  respecting  crimes 
[which],  I  am  told,  [are]  laid  to  my  charge,  that  if  guilty 
of  any  breach  of  the  law  I  may  be  punished,  if  otherwise, 
my  character  may  be  cleared  from  any  aspersions  unjustly 
cast  upon  it.  I  have  been  told  that  some  persons  have 
threatened  to  take  whatever  they  can  get  of  mine  as  free 
plunder,  and  take  me  prisoner,  [and]  that  they  had  orders 
[to  do  so],  and  that  if  I  did  not  submit  to  their  will  and 
pleasure,  or  made  any  resistance,  to  hang  me.  This  might 
seem  like  idle  report  to  those  who  are  strangers  to  our 
calamitous  situation,  but  those  who  are  in  the  least  ac 
quainted  with  transactions  for  some  time  past  must  be 

*  Of  Pennsylvania,  "A  very  active  and  vigilant  militia  officer." — 
Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.  p.  362. 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  283 

sensible  there  is  but  too  much  truth  to  be  apprehended 
from  it.  I  came  home  this  day  from  Kent,  in  Maryland, 
where  I  had  been  providing  places  for  cattle  that  were 
drove  away  some  time  ago,  lest  they  might  fall  into  the 
enemy's  hands.  [I]  have  taken  the  earliest  opportunity 
to  inform  you  that  I  will  attend,  at  any  time  and  place  you 
will  please  to  appoint  me,  to  have  a  hearing  before  any  dis 
interested  and  unprejudiced  judges  you  may  think  fit.  Gen 
eral  Patterson,  perhaps,  may  be  acquainted  with  what  I 
am  charged  with.  Please  to  inform,  by  a  line  with  the 
bearer,  of  the  time  and  place  you  would  have  me  attend. 
"From  your  very  humble  servant, 

"ALEXANDER  PORTER. 

"HAMBURG,  November  21st,  1777. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Vice-President  of  the  Delaware 
State." 

On  the  back  of  this  letter  it  is  noted  that  Porter  came 
before  George  Evans,  Esquire,  who  took  his  recognizance  to 
appear  at  the  next  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer. 

Mr.  Read  evinced  great  solicitude  in  relation  to  President 
McKinley,  then  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  made  every 
exertion  practicable  to  ascertain  his  situation,  provide  for 
his  wants,  and  procure  his  exchange,  requested  the  inter 
ference  of  General  Washington  in  his  behalf,  and  addressed 
a  communication  to  the  British  commodore,  Griffith,  for  the 
purpose  of  learning  his  wants,  and  asking  such  indulgence 
and  kind  treatment  as  his  character  entitled  him  to  expect. 
All  which  appears  from  the  letters  to  be  next  presented  to 
the  reader.  The  letter  to  General  Washington  treats,  how 
ever,  of  other  matters  besides  this. 

25th  November,  1777. 

"SiR, — Your  friend,  Mr.  Latimer,  has  most  readily  offered 
to  wait  upon  Commodore  Griffith  for  permission  to  see  and 
converse  with  you  upon  the  subject  of  your  present  situa 
tion  and  wants,  and  to  be  informed  if  they  be  such  as  I  or 
any  of  your  friends  may  with  propriet}^  relieve,  and  whether 
you  can  propose  any  plan  for  the  obtaining  your  liberty 
speedily  upon  honorable  terms.  My  absence  from  the  State 
at  the  time  of  your  captivity  and  long  after  has  prevented 
an  application  of  this  sort  sooner,  though  true  it  is  that 
such  vague  accounts  as  we  have  of  your  treatment  are 


284  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

favorable.  I  wish  to  be  satisfied  of  this,  and  to  know  if  I 
can,  in  any  unexceptionable  way,  render  your  unfortunate 
situation  more  tolerable  to  you,  and  I  am,  with  the  greatest 
respect  and  esteem,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  PRESIDENT  McKiNLEY." 

"  NEW  CASTLE  COUNTY,  25th  November,  17 IT. 

"  SIR, — The  fortune  of  war  having  put  his  Excellency 
John  McKinley,  Esquire,  the  President  of  this  State,  into 
your  hands,  I  take  the  liberty  to  send  the  bearer,  George 
Latirner,  Esquire,  one  of  the  Privy  Council,  with  this,  for 
your  permission  to  deliver  the  inclosed  letter  to  Mr.  Mc 
Kinley,  wishing  to  know  his  present  wants,  and  whether 
they  be  such  as  may  be  supplied  with  propriety.  Be  as 
sured,  sir,  that  your  prisoner  is  a  character  that  will  merit 
every  indulgence  and  kind  treatment  your  humanity  may 
induce  you  to  afford  him,  though  it  too  frequently  happens 
in  contests  such  as  we  are  now  engaged  in  that  the  parties 
exercise  less  of  this  moral  duty  towards  each  other  than  in 
foreign  wars.  I  am  induced  to  believe  that  such  a  conduct 
is  not  consistent  with  your  sentiments ;  believe  me  that  it 
does  not  correspond  with  mine.  I  fixed  upon  Mr.  Latimer 
for  this  business  as  one  well  known  to  the  President,  and  a 
man  of  probity  and  honor.  If  it  shall  be  in  my  power  I 
will  return  the  favor,  and  am,  with  much  respect,  your 
obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Vice-President  of  Delaware. 

"COMMODORE  GRIFFITH." 

"  SIR, — Your  letter,  with  the  inclosed,  is  come  to  my  hands, 
and  I  am  to  inform  you  that  your  friend,  upon  the  Solebay's 
sailing  from  this  anchorage,  was  conveyed  in  one  of  the 
ships  to  Chester,  where,  I  believe,  he  now  is.  While  in  the 
Solebay  I  will  venture  to  say  he  was  treated  with  every 
indulgence  he  wished  and  desired,  and  [in]  his  present 
situation  I  doubt  not  is  equally  so.  Your  letter  to  him  I 
shall  send  to  the  Admiral,  from  whose  example  (as  well  as 
the  native  feelings  of  our  own  hearts)  we  imbibe  the  liberal 
sentiments  of  humanity  you  profess. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  W.  A.  GRIFFITH. 

"NONSUCH,  November  26th,  1777. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  285 

"NEW  CASTLE,  November  25th,  1777. 

"  SIR, — I  was  honored  with  yours  of  the  8th  instant,  de 
livered  to  me  the  15th  by  Colonel  Pope,  by  whom  I  imme 
diately  wrote  to  persons  in  authority  in  the  counties  of 
Kent  and  Sussex  to  give  him  every  assistance  in  procuring 
clothing  and  blankets  for  the  use  of  our  battalion  with  you. 
I  know  not  what  may  be  the  success,  but  have  hopes  that 
sufficient  for  their  immediate  use  may  be  obtained.  The 
State  had  made  some  provision  in  this  way  at  the  time  of 
raising  the  battalion,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year,  a  part 
of  which  was  then  only  expended ;  but  upon  the  march  of 
General  Howe's  army  through  this  county  the  greater  part 
of  what  remained  was  sent  by  a  person,  in  whose  custody 
it  was,  with  his  own  effects,  in  a  vessel,  into  Manito  Creek, 
in  [the]  Jerseys,  near  to  Red  Bank  fort ;  whether  it  is  at 
present  safe  I  know  not.  I  know  it  consisted  of  three  hun 
dred  and  fifty  yards  of  cloth,  of  different  kinds,  in  rem 
nants,  the  gleanings  of  many  shops.  I  have  ordered  an 
inquiry  to  be  made  respecting  it.  1  luckily  laid  my  hands 
upon  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  linen,  of  the  public 
store,  saved  from  the  enemy's  searches,  in  Wilmington, 
which  is  made  into  shirts,  ready  for  Colonel  Pope  on  his 
return.  The  county  of  New  Castle  has  heretofore  been  so 
stript  of  blanketing  that  we  have  not  a  sufficiency  for  the 
few  militia  we  have  now  in  service  guarding  the  shores  of 
the  Delaware.  The  manufacture  of  this  State  ever  was 
inconsiderable  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  its  inhab 
itants,  depending  principally  on  foreign  goods  purchased 
at  Philadelphia.  That  part  of  the  State  which  did  most  in 
this  way  was  severely  pillaged  by  General  Howe's  army, 
both  as  to  the  clothing  of  the  people  and  their  sheep,  so 
that  their  distress  is  great  at  this  season.  To  give  you 
some  idea  of  the  amazing  prices  necessaries  have  arisen  to,  a 
man  next  door  to  me  has  just  purchased  a  little  American- 
made  linen  for  family  use  at  fifty  shillings  per  yard,  such 
as  but  three  years  since  sold  for  four  shillings.  I  have  a 
tanner's  bill  for  leather  for  my  own  use  now  before  me,  in 
which  sole-leather  is  charged  at  ten  shillings  per  pound, 
two  calf-skins  at  seventy  shillings  each,  and  a  third  at 
ninety  shillings,  the  three  not  weighing  altogether  six 
pounds.  Shoes  are  selling  from  six  to  eight  dollars  per 
pair.  How  to  remedy  these  things  I  know  not.  They 


f 


286  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

make  unfavorable  impressions.  I  have  the  pleasure  to  in 
form  you  that  we  have  greatly  checked  and  put  almost 
entire  stop  to  the  intercourse  that  was  had  with  the  enemy's 
ships  since  they  came  into  our  river.  This  requires  all  the 
militia  we  can  procure,  as  we  have  a  water-communication 
of  more  than  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  our  front, 
and  too  many  of  our  people  disposed  to  supply  themselves 
with  salt,  sugar,  coffee,  etc.  at  lower  rates  than  [they]  can 
be  had  within  the  State.  We  have  been  peculiarly  unlucky 
in  the  captivity  of  our  President  [and  capture  of]  our  pub 
lic  papers,  moneys,  and  records,  [which]  damped  the  spirits 
of  our  people.  They  have  not  got  over  the  effects  of  it. 
While  on  this  subject  I  must  entreat  your  Excellency's  at 
tention  to  procuring  our  President's  release,  by  exchange, 
as  soon  as  it  may  be  in  your  power.  His  usefulness  was 
such  that  his  loss  is  severely  felt  through  the  State,  and 
particularly  by  myself,  upon  whom  the  business  [of  the 
executive  department]  devolves,  as  Speaker  of  the  Legisla 
tive  Council.  I  am  truly  inadequate  to  either  station,  but 
especially  to  that  of  Vice-President,  and  such  is  the  pro 
vision  in  the  Constitution  of  the  State,  [and]  it  cannot  be 
'altered  without  doing  a  worthy  man,  our  President,  injus 
tice.  Be  assured  that  in  procuring  his  speedy  return  here 
you  will  do  a  great  favor  to  the  State  as  well  as  to  your 
Excellency's  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  GEORGE  KEAJX 
"His  Excellency  GENERAL  WASHINGTON." 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Head  wrote  as  follows  to  the 
President  of  Congress : 

"?STEWARK,  25th  November,  Hf7. 

"  SIR, — Yours  of  the  1st  instant,  inclosing  the  resolve 
of  Congress  of  that  day,  recommending  the  18th  of  Decem 
ber  next  to  be  set  apart  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  through 
out  the  United  States,  was  handed  to  me,  as  Vice-President 
of  the  Delaware  State,  and  you  may  be  assured  that  I  will 
take  such  measures  as  are  necessary  to  carry  the  same  into 
effect. 

"  This  State  having  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  the 
President  thereof  made  a  prisoner,  with  all  the  public 
papers  under  his  care,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know  what  requisi 
tions  have  been  made  by  Congress  upon  this  State,  from 


OF  GEOEGE  BEAD.  287 

time  to  time,  and  what  steps  have  been  taken  to  carry  the 
same  into  execution;  therefore  I  must  request  the  favor  of 
your  directing  a  review  of  the  Minutes  of  Congress,  and 
copies  of  any  such  resolves  as  may  be  expected  to  be  acted 
upon  in  the  Delaware  State,  and  particularly  I  would  ask 
to  have  the  original  or  copies  of  the  testimonies  upon  which 
a  resolve  of  Congress  for  the  imprisonment  of  a  Thomas 
Lightfoot  and  Thomas  Cockayne,  of  Sussex  County,  was 
founded,  as  the  Chief  Justice  of  the  State  tells  me  he  has 
been  applied  to  for  a  habeas  corpus  to  relieve  them  from 
that  confinement.  The  resolution  probably  passed  some 
time  in  August  last,  as  they  were  taken  into  custody  about 
the  25th  of  that  month. 

"  I  am,  etc.  etc., 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  President  of  Congress." 

The  letter  which  follows  is  the  last  of  those  addressed  to 
Mr.  Read  in  1777,  which  1  find  among  his  papers,  and  is 
characteristic  of  its  writer. 

"  SIR, — Having  now  an  opportunity  by  the  bearer,  Mr. 
Holmes,  none  having  offered  before,  I  transmit  you  a  re 
solve  of  Congress,  which  I  received  on  Wednesday  last, 
under  cover  from  the  Honorable  Henry  Laurens,  President 
of  Congress,  in  which  he  informs  me  '  that  it  leads  to  an 
inquiry  into  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  requires  the  dele 
gates  from  that  State  to  attend  Congress,  and  requests  of 
me  the  needful  answer/  Mr.  President's  letter  to  me  had 
visited  General  Washington's  head-quarters,  thence  took  a 
tour  to  Newport,  from  whence  Colonel  Duff  sent  it  inclosed 
to  me.  It  has  been  directed  to  me,  supposing  that  I  still 
continued  to  act  as  president  of  your  State.  You  will  be 
pleased  therefore,  as  commander-in-chief,  to  give  the  answer. 

"  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  find  that  the  Congress  are 
determined  to  support  the  Whigs  in  the  Delaware  State, 
and,  of  course,  you  will  be  happy  in  receiving  such  a  proof 
of  it. 

"  The  warm  attachment  of  the  Honorable  James  Sykes, 
Esquire,  to  the  virtuous  and  glorious  cause  in  which  his 
country  is  engaged,  will  no  doubt  induce  him  to  give  his 
immediate  attendance  in  Congress,  and  the  more  especially 


288  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

as  he  is  at  present  engaged  in  no  public  business  that  can 
prevent  it. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  THOMAS  McKEAN. 
"PAXTON,  December  6th,  1777. 
"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

On  Tuesday,  2d  of  December,  "  a  representation  from 
Captain  William  Peery,  of  Lewistown,  Delaware,  to  the 
Board  of  War  was  laid  before  Congress  and  read,  where 
upon  Congress  came  to  the  following  resolution  :  Whereas, 
the  situation  of  the  enemy's  ships  and  forces  and  the  arts 
and  numbers  of  the  malign  ants  in  the  county  of  Sussex,  in 
the  State  of  Delaware,  have  rendered  the  operation  of  the 
civil  authority  utterly  ineffectual,  whereby  it  has  become 
essential  not  only  to  the  preservation  of  the  independency 
of  that  State,  but  likewise  to  the  general  welfare  of  the 
United  States  that  the  most  rigorous  measures  should  be 
forthwith  pursued  for  repressing  the  arts  and  violence  of 
the  open  and  secret  enemies  of  these  States;  therefore 
Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  War  be  authorized  to  pursue 
such  measures  for  the  support  of  the  friends  of  America  in 
the  county  of  Sussex,  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  for 
curbing  the  spirit  and  checking  the  evil  designs  of  the  dis 
affected,  as  they  shall  deem  effectual."* 

From  this  resolution,  to  which  the  one  mentioned  by 
Judge  McKean  was  preliminary,  it  appears  there  was  no 
change  for  the  better  in  the  disheartening  condition  of  Dela 
ware,  at  least  in  Sussex  County,  at  the  close  of  1777;  but 
if  there  was  little  to  encourage  Mr.  Read  in  his  own  State, 
there  was,  I  think,  upon  a  review  of  this  eventful  year, 
much  to  inspire  confidence  in  the  final  success  of  the  cause, 
which  was  truly  "glorious"  and  "virtuous."  True,  the 
battle  of  Brandywine  was  lost,  and  Philadelphia  captured, 
and  the  brave  defence  of  Fort  Mifflin  ineffectual,  but  Wash 
ington,  judiciously  occupying  strong  ground  in  the  vicinity 
of  Philadelphia,  west  of  it,  harassing  the  foraging- par  ties  of 
the  enemy,  and,  wherever  he  showed  himself  in  force,  pre 
senting  a  bold  front,  had  cooped  up  the  British  in  that  city, 
and  made  Sir  William  Howe's  success,  on  the  preceding 


Journals  of  Congress,  vol.  iii.  p.  432. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  289 

llth  of  September,  a  barren  triumph,  and  to  all  the  dis 
asters  of  the  American  arms  in  1777  the  victory  of  Saratoga 
was  a  brilliant  and  sufficient  set-off. 

New  Year's  Day  (1777)  had  dawned  on  our  forefathers, 
gladdening  them  not  with  the  prospect  of  peace.  The  at 
titude  of  the  belligerents  was  unchanged,  the  Americans 
abating  nothing  of  their  stern  resolve  never  to  lay  down 
their  arms  till  they  had  conquered  peace  upon  the  basis  of 
their  independence,  acknowledged  by  their  haughty  adver 
sary,  and  Britain  as  resolved  never  to  sheathe  the  sword 
till  she  had  reduced  her  rebel  colonists  to  unconditional 
submission.  It  seems  as  if  Providence  had  inflicted  upon 
this  great  people  and  their  government,  as  a  punishment 
for  their  injustice  to  their  American  brethren,  blindness  to 
their  true  interest,  and  to  the  impossibility  of  enslaving 
three  millions  of  men,  offshoots  from  their  parent  stock, 
loving  liberty  as  passionately  as  they  loved  it,  and  in  no 
wise  inferior  to  these  proud  islanders  in  courage,  intellect, 
and  knowledge  of  their  common  constitution  and  laws. 
History  has  seldom  recorded  an  infatuation  greater  than 
the  persistence  of  Britain  in  her  attempt  to  effect  an  im 
possibility,  nor  a  severer  punishment  than  that  she  incurred 
by  her  folly,  even  the  loss  of  thirteen  colonies,  the  noblest 
gems  in  her  monarch's  diadem. 

Hostilities  were  suspended  between  the  contending  armies, 
retired  to  their  winter  quarters,  the  British  well  housed, 
and  fed,  and  clothed,  and  the  Americans  at  Valley  Forge,* 
under  the  imperfect  shelter  of  rude  huts,  pervious  to  winds, 
and  rains,  and  snow,  often  on  the  verge  of  starvation,  thou 
sands  of  them  barefooted,  and  the  luxury  of  a  blanket 
enjoyed  by  few.  General  Washington,  after  stating  that 
the  soap,  vinegar,  and  other  articles,  ordered  by  Congress, 
had  not  been  seen  by  his  soldiers  since  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  sarcastically  adds :  "  The  first  we  do  not  need,  for  few 
of  my  men  have  a  shirt,  some  merely  a  moiety  of  one,  and 
some  none  at  all."  The  hospitals  were  so  destitute  of  medi 
cines,  and  stores  of  every  sort,  that  a  large  number  of  the 
sick  soldiers  entered  them  only  to  die.f 

General  "Washington  had  ordered  General   Smallwood, 

*  See  Appendix  F. 

•f  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  pp.  344,  345. 


290  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

with  a  detachment  of  Continental  troops  (Mary landers),  to 
Wilmington,  and  made  a  requisition  upon  the  State  of  Dela 
ware  for  militia  to  reinforce  him. 

Mr.  Read  made  known  to  the  commander-in-chief  of  the 
American  army  the  result  of  this  requisition  in  the  follow 
ing  letter.  He  had,  as  he  informs  him,  just  recovered  from 
an  attack  of  disease  of  three  weeks'  duration  while  on  a  visit 
to  his  family,  his  State  was  convulsed  by  party  strife,  the 
executive  was  not  sustained,  and  all  his  efforts  to  induce  the 
Legislature  to  take  the  measures  essential  to  the  public  wel 
fare  had  failed;  but,  instead  of  the  language  of  despondency, 
we  find  him  determined  to  renew  his  endeavors  to  bring  this 
body  to  a  sense  of  its  duties,  and  to  acts  consonant  with  it: 

"January  19th,  1778. 

"SiR, — I  am  sorry  to  inform  your  Excellency  that  our 
Legislature  has  not  made  any  provision  for  filling  up  the 
battalion  allotted  to  this  State.  One  of  our  three  counties 
is  yet  unrepresented  in  the  House  of  Assembly,  owing  to 
the  interference  of  the  military  on  the  day  of  the  election. 
This  step  occasioned  such  a  division  among  the  representa 
tives  of  the  other  counties  that  it  was  impracticable  to  allay 
the  ferment  at  two  sittings,  which  have  been  had  since.  I 
have  issued  writs  for  calling  them  together  a  third  time, 
[which]  I  would  fain  hope  will  be  attended  with  better 
effects;  but  I  cannot  venture  to  promise  for  them,  though 
you  may  be  assured  of  every  exertion  on  my  part.  Pre 
vious  to  your  letter  of  the  19th  ultimo,  handed  me  by 
General  Smallwood  on  the  25th,  I  pressed  General  Small- 
wood  to  order  out  three  recruiting-parties,  one  for  each 
county,  as  the  whole  corps  of  our  battalion  officers  could 
not  be  necessary  for  the  command  of  about  two  hundred 
privates.  I  had  two  things  in  view,  the  chance  of  picking 
up  some  recruits,  and  the  means  of  convincing  the  Legisla 
ture  that  this  mode  of  filling  the  battalion  would  be  inade 
quate.  Such  parties  were  sent  out  the  beginning  of  this 
week.  I  am  well  convinced  that  drafting  is  the  most 
effectual  mode,  and  the  least  burdensome  to  the  State,  but 
in  times  like  unto  the  present  the  assent  of  very  many 
[persons]  is  necessary  to  public  measures. 

"As  to  clothing, — I  have  heretofore  stated  to  your  Ex 
cellency  that  its  manufacture  within  this  State  always  was 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  291 

and  still  is  inconsiderable.*  We  lost  many  of  our  small 
stocks  of  sheep  by  the  British  plunderers,  and  the  last 
year's  crop  of  flax  failed  very  generally.  Fortune  threw 
some  cloths  in  our  way  lately,  which  will  be  sufficient  for 
more  than  our  battalion  consists  of  at  present,  if  you  do 
not  order  otherwise.  They  were  taken  from  a  schooner, 
deserted  by  her  crew,  and  after  forced  on  our  shore  by  the 
ice.  Several  of  our  people,  as  well  as  others  from  Jersey, 
were  busily  employed  in  gutting  her,  when  a  detachment 
of  the  Delaware  battalion,  upon  the  request  of  Brigadier 
Patterson,  were  sent  to  take  into  possession  such  [part]  of 
the  cargo  as  might  be  of  use  to  the  army.  Cloths  and 
spirits  were  the  only  two  articles.  A  dispute  arises  between 
the  State  and  those  of  its  members  who  saved  the  goods 
from  this  wreck,  as  to  the  property,  but  in  whomsoever  it 
may  be  determined  to  be,  I  apprehend  our  battalion  should 
have  the  preference  as  to  such  part  of  the  clothing  as  suited 
their  uniform,  and,  at  the  request  of  the  field-officers,  I 
wrote  to  General  Small  wood,  making  claim  to  them.  As 
he  declined  to  allow  the  claim  until  he  should  receive  your 
direction  therein,  I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  my  letter  to 
him,  and  his  answer,  lest,  in  the  multiplicity  of  business, 
he  should  delay  stating  that  claim  to  your  Excellency.  If 
decided  by  you  in  our  favor  the  cloths  may  be  immediately 
made  up  by  a  number  of  workmen  whom  Colonel  Pope  has 
collected  at  Dover.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  step  any  dis 
trust  of  General  Smallwood,  or  wish  for  your  determination 
but  through  him,  yet  I  know  how  much  his  time  is  taken 
up  with  supplying  the  defect  of  duty  in  others,  particularly 
the  commissary  of  purchases  department,  of  which,  I  be 
lieve,  he  has  great  reason  to  complain,  as  well  as  the  in 
habitants  of  New  Castle  and  Chester  Counties.  The  person 
I  particularly  allude  to  is  a  Mr.  Higgins,  whose  credit 
among  the  graziers  was  very  low  long  before  General  Small- 
wood  came  to  Wilmington.  His  certificates,  his  mode  of 
pay[ment],  may  be  purchased  at  a  considerable  discount. 
This  is  such  a  discouragement  that  a  great  part  of  the  sup- 

*  The  population  of  Delaware  in  1775  was  estimated  at  thirty-seven 
thousand.  As  there  was  no  general  enumeration  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  till  1790,  this  estimate  is  conjectural,  but  may  be  accepted 
as  at  least  approximating  the  truth. —  Compendium  of  the  United  States 
Census,  p.  39. 


292  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

plies  lately  have  been  gotten  by  stealth  or  force,  and  it  is 
the  more  so  as  a  Mr.  McGarmont,  in  the  neighboring  county 
of  Kent,  pays  regularly  for  the  like  articles  within  his  dis 
trict.  I  expect  the  number  of  our  graziers  will  be  greatly 
diminished  in  the  ensuing  season,  as  well  from  the  situation 
of  many  of  our  feeding-grounds  on  the  shore  of  the  river 
as  the  irregular  conduct  of  the  purchasing  commissary,  and 
his  agents. 

"I  issued  orders,  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  the  19th  of  December,  for  the  march  of  General 
Patterson's  brigade,  consisting  of  thirty-one  hundred  of  the 
militia  of  New  Castle  County,  to  join  General  Smallwocd 
at  Wilmington,  agreeably  to  your  requisition,  but  true  it  is 
that  a  very  few  obeyed,  the  penalty  prescribed  in  the  militia 
law  being  so  small,  and  the  mode  of  punishment  for  such 
refusal  is  so  tedious,  that  we  have  little  power  to  exercise 
over  delinquents.  I  have  repeated  the  orders  as  to  this 
county,  and  included  the  county  of  Kent  therein,  and  shall 
urge  the  Legislature,  on  their  meeting  (the  17th  instant),  to 
devise  some  more  speedy  and  effectual  way  than  the  present 
to  compel  their  immediate  service. 

"My  situation  is  rather  an  unlucky  one,  in  a  government 
very  deficient  in  its  laws,  and  those  greatly  relaxed  in  their 
execution,  and  a  Legislature  as  yet  incomplete,  and  not  dis 
posed  to  unite  and  give  aid  to  the  executive  authority.  I 
should  have  informed  your  Excellency  of  the  fate  of  my 
orders  before,  but  I  was  taken  unwell  on  a  visit  I  made  to 
my  family,  near  to  the  Susquehanna,  in  Cecil  County 
[Maryland],  and  confined  there  for  three^  weeks,  and  on 
my  return  I  was  told  by  General  Smallwood  that  he  had 
written  to  you  on  the  subject,  which  I  hope  you  will  accept 
as  an  apology  for  this  late  report  of  mine,  and 

"I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"GENERAL  WASHINGTON." 

William  Hooper,  the  writer  of  the  letter  next  to  be 
brought  to  the  reader's  notice,  was  a  native  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  graduate  of  Harvard  University,  who  removed 
to  North  Carolina,  as  a  better  field  for  the  practice  of  the 
law,  soon  after  the  disputes  between  Great  Britain  and  her 
North  American  colonies  began,  in  which  he  took  an  active 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  293 

part.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress  from 
1774  to  1778,  in  which  he  held  a  respectable  rank,  a  signer 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  universally  re 
spected  for  his  integrity  and  generous  sacrifice  of  private 
interest  to  public  duty.  Of  good  standing  as  a  lawyer,  his 
literary  taste  and  acquirements  were  considerable,  and  he 
was  fluent,  graceful,  and  agreeable  as  a  speaker  and  in  con 
versation.  He  died  in  1790,  aged  forty-eight  years.*  Mr. 
Read  may  have  smiled  when  he  read  his  friend's  congratula 
tions  upon  his  promotion  to  the  chief  magistracy  of  Dela 
ware,  thrust  on  him  by  an  event  unhappy  and  unexpected, 
and  in  administering  which  he  anticipated  and  encountered 
much  difficulty  and  disappointment  from  the  distracted 
condition  of  his  State.  It  was  not  from  want  of  ability 
and  will  to  exert  it  to  the  uttermost  that  Mr.  Read  was  not 
as  successful  as  he  wished  in  restoring  harmony  among  his 
fellow-citizens,  heated  and  alienated  by  party  feuds,  and 
uniting  them  in  vigorous  efforts  for  the  great  cause  in  which 
he  was  periling  all  he  held  most  dear.  He  had  too  much 
equanimity  to  be  much  disturbed  if  censure,  the  due  of 
others,  fell  upon  himself. 

"Mr  DEAR  SIR, — I  was  favored  with  yours  by  Colonel 
Foster,  and  should  have  been  happy  to  have  rendered  him 
essential  services.  From  your  friendly  mention  of  him,  as 
well  as  his  own  personal  merits,  he  has  pretensions  to  any 
civilities  in  my  power.  Your  letter  was  doubly  acceptable, 
as  it  gave  me  information  that  in  the  general  bustle  you 
had  escaped  uninjured,  and  from  Colonel  Foster  I  heard  of 
your  late  promotion,  upon  which  I  beg  leave  to  congratulate 
you.  In  that,  and  every  station  of  life,  public  or  private, 
no  man  more  earnestly  wishes  you  honor  and  happiness 
than  does, 

"My  dear  sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  HOOPER. 

"CAPE  FEAR,  January  22d,  1778. 

"  His  Excellency  GEORGE  READ." 

The  President  of  Congress  wrote  to  Mr.  Read  as  follows 
from 

*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol. 
v.  pp.  109-130. 


294  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  YORKTOWN,  30th  January,  1778. 

"SiR, — Upon  receipt  of  your  favor  of  the  18th,  I  trans 
mitted  by  Captain  Lewis  twenty  blank  commissions  for 
private  ships  of  war  together  with  instructions  and  bonds. 
The  latter,  when  duly  executed,  you  will  be  pleased  to 
return  to  Congress.  I  have  received  no  particular  com 
mands  in  reply  to  the  letter  above  mentioned,  nor  to  a 
former  of  the  25th  of  November. 

"  Your  Honor  will  find,  under  cover  of  this,  nine  Acts  of 
Congress,  of  the  following  dates,  together  with  five  extra 
copies  of  the  two  last  mentioned :  of  the  31st  July,  14th 
and  22d  November,  3d,  19th,  29th,  and  31st  December, 
1777;  8th  and  21st  January,  1778.  These  are  the  whole 
which  have  been  sent  to  me  from  the  secretary's  office,  and 
I  have  waited  much  too  long  even  for  these.  If  there  are 
any  deficiencies  I  shall  soon  discover  and  supply  them  by 
the  aid  of  Mr.  McKean,  whom  I  consider  a  valuable  acqui 
sition  in  Congress. 

"  The  House  has  of  late  been  so  reduced  it  has  shown  on 
some  days  no  more  than  barely  nine  States  on  the  floor, 
represented  by  writs.  This  criminal  delinquency  in  the 
States  may  very  speedily  work  our  disgrace,  for  whatever 
evils  may  betide  our  army  at  Valley  Forge  may  fairly  be 
imputed  to  want  of  sufficient  numbers  of  able  citizens  in 
Congress.  There  have  not  been  for  some  months  past 
members  equal  in  numbers  to  the  common  drudgery  of 
committees.  You  would  be  as  deeply  affected,  sir,  as  I  am 
were  I  to  give  you  a  detail  of  consequent  evils — the  certain 
loss  of  millions  of  money  is,  in  my  estimation,  far  from 
being  the  most  deplorable. 

"  You  will  also  receive  a  letter,  directed  to  your  Honor, 
which  I  found,  a  few  days  ago,  in  the  window  of  the  court 
house. 

"  I  am,  with  great  esteem  and  regard,  honorable  sir,  your 
obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  HENRY  LAURENS,  President  of  Congress. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Vice-President  of  Dela 


ware." 


Mr.  Read,  with  little  to  encourage  him  in  the  state  of 
public  affairs,  was  separated  from  his  family,  and  with  no 
fixed  dwelling-place,  as  appears  by  the  letter  next  inserted  : 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  295 

"NEW  CASTLE,  January  31st,  1778. 

"SiR, — This  being  the  first  direct  conveyance  I  have  had 
by  which  I  could  send  you  a  line,  since  my  landing  on  this 
shore,  I  embrace  it  to  acknowledge  the  sense  I  have  of  your 
hospitality  and  kindness  to  me  when  in  your  neighborhood 
and  under  your  roof.  The  extreme  hurry  attending  the 
removal  of  my  family  from  Mr.  Shinn's  to  Mr.  Howell's 
prevented  Mrs.  Read's  waiting  on  Mrs.  Greenman  agreeably 
to  your  kind  invitation.  Since  that  time  Mrs.  Read  has 
discovered  that  they  were  acquainted  with  each  other  in 
the  early  part  of  their  lives.  In  our  passage  over  [the] 
Delaware  we  were  visited  by  a  boat's-crew,  belonging  to  one 
of  the  enemy's  tenders ;  but  there  being  no  officer  with  them 
no  other  questions  were  asked  than  whence  we  came  and 
whither  we  were  going.  Immediately  upon  gaining  this 
shore  I  removed  my  family  westward,  near  to  the  river 
Susquehanna.  I  am  obliged  to  separate  myself  from  them 
and  spend  most  of  rny  time  in  this  and  the  neighboring 
county  of  Kent.  I  have  been  but  a  short  time  in  this 
place,  and  must  leave  it  soon,  as  the  river  is  clearing  of  ice 
and  the  enemy's  vessels  of  war  daily  expected  up.  We  have 
a  detachment  of  the  Continental  army  at  Wilmington,  com 
manded  by  General  Smallwood,  who  took  post  there  about 
the  middle  of  December,  and  will  continue  at  least  until  the 
campaign  opens,  by  which  time  I  hope  each  State  will  fill 
up  their  respective  regiments  in  the  Continental  army,  so 
that  a  decisive  blow  may  be  given  to  the  enemy  at  Phila 
delphia  before  they  are  reinforced  ;  it  is  ground  for  reproach 
against  the  Middle  States  that  so  inconsiderable  a  force 
should  have  held  that  city  so  long.  I  am,  very  respect 
fully,  yours, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"Reverend  NEHEMIAH  GREENMAN,  Pitt's  Grove,  New 
Jersey. 

"  I  have  sent  the  bearer  for  my  carriage  at  your  neighbor 
Newkerk's,  etc." 

The  President  of  Congress  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Read  from 

"YORKTOWN,  9th  February,  1778. 

"  SIR, — I  had  the  honor  of  addressing  you  the  30th  ultimo. 
In  that  packet  I  omitted  to  inclose  a  letter  which  I  had  taken 


296  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

up  for  you  in  the  room  where  Congress  meets,  but  I  have 
now  delivered  it  to  the  Honorable  Mr.  McKean. 

"  This  is  intended  to  convey  you  an  Act  of  Congress  of 
the  3d  instant,  and  five  copies  of  the  same,  for  obliging 
persons  who  hold  appointments  under  Congress  to  qualify 
themselves  for  acting  in  their  several  offices  by  taking  cer 
tain  oaths  therein  prescribed.  You  are  requested,  sir,  to 
take  the  most  effectual  measures  for  publishing  this  act  in 
*:  the  State  of  Delaware. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  regard,  sir,  your 
most  obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"  HENRY  LAURENS,*  President  of  Congress. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Vice-President 
of  Delaware." 

*  Three  prominent  members  of  the  Continental  Congress,  Hancock, 
Robert  Morris,  and  Laurens,  were  merchants. 

Henry  Laurens,  born  A. p.  1724,  was  descended  from  Huguenots,  who, 
when  the  edict  of  Nantes  was  revoked,  sought  and  found  in  South  Caro 
lina  the  freedom  of  conscience  denied  them  in  France.  By  his  ability, 
diligence,  enlightened  enterprise,  and  integrity  he  acquired  an  ample 
fortune,  with  the  respect  and  esteem  of  his  contemporaries.  At  the  out 
set  of  the  controversy  between  Great  Britain  and  her  North  American 
colonies,  being  in  London,  for  the  education  of  his  sons,  he  took  a  decided 
and  active  part  with  his  countrymen.  Upon  his  return  home  he  was 
immediately  appointed  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Safety,  and  was 
one  of  the  most  devoted,  active,  zealous,  and  trusted  of  the  Whig  leaders. 
In  1776  he  was  elected  to  the  Continental  Congress  for  two  successive 
years,  and  was  the  President  of  that  august  assembly.  In  1780  he 
was  appointed  envoy  to  Holland,  on  his  passage  to  that  country  cap 
tured,  with  his  papers,  among  them  the  plan  of  a  treaty  he  was  to 
propose,  and  carrred  to  London.  Committed  to  the  Tower,  his  treat 
ment  was  at  first  lenient,  but  he  was  soon  after  consigned  to  close  im 
prisonment  because  he  was  accosted  by  the  madman,  Lord  George 
Gordon,  from  whom  he  retired  at  once.  This,  the  assigned  reason  for 
an  act  of  cruelty,  is  so  frivolous  that  it  may  justly  be  considered  a  mere 
pretext.  Attempts  were  made,  without  success,  to  frighten  or  seduce 
him  from  his  allegiance  to  his  country.  His  constitution  was  broken 
and  his  life  shortened  by  his  confinement.  Upon  his  release,  by  exchange, 
he  signed,  with  Adams  and  Jay,  the  preliminary  treaty  between  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States.  His  appointment  as  one  of  the  envoys 
on  this  occasion  being  a  testimonial  to  the  world  of  his  eminent  services 
to  his  country,  and  her  gratitude  for  them,  honorable  to  both,  and  if 
it  was  one  drop  more  in  the  cup  of  humiliations  Great  Britain  was 
then  forced  to  drain  to  its  dregs,  it  was  a  just  retaliation  for  the  indig 
nities  and  wrongs  he  had  endured  at  her  hands.  After  this  service  he 
lived  in  retirement  till  1790,  when  he  died. 

His  body,  as  directed  by  his  will,  was  burned, — from  misapprehension 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  297 

Mr.  Green  man  wrote  to  Mr.  Read  as  follows  from 

"PiTTSQROVE,  February  9th,  17T8. 

"  HONORED  SIR, — Yesterday  I  received  your  good  letter, 
dated  February  2d,  1778.  I  sincerely  acknowledge  my  un- 
worthiness  of  your  notice,  and  accept  it  as  a  token  of  un 
merited  favor.  We  are  very  apprehensive  that  the  enemy 
design  a  visit  to  this  and  the  neighboring  counties ;  indeed, 
the  Reverend  Mr.  Eakin  informed  me  that  the  people  at  Had- 
donfield  and  Burlington  were  packing  up  last  Friday ;  the 
storm  of  snow  may  retard  their  motions,  but  if  good  weather 
succeeds,  their  appetite  will  be  keener  for  plunder.  I  am 
grieved  for  your  unsettled  state,  which  I  expect  will  soon 
be  mine  and  numbers  more  in  this  Western  division.  May 
the  Lord  who  governs  the  world  prevent  us  from  falling 
into  their  hands  !  I  fear  the  person  you  sent  will  meet  with 
difficulty  in  getting  your  carriage  over,  as  the  snow  is  deep, 
and  as  yet  there  is  no  beaten  road.  Mrs.  Greenman  has 
found  out  by  the  person  you  sent  who  Mrs.  Read  was,  and 
is  much  the  more  grieved  that  she  had  not  one  short  inter 
view  with  her  while  in  this  State,  but  submits  to  Providence. 
You;  sir,  kindly  wished  my  health ;  I  can  inform  you  that 

and  misapplication  of  some  texts  of  Scripture,  and  from  fear  of  being 
buried  alive,  because  one  of  his  children,  when  apparently  dead  from 
small-pox,  was  revived  when  the  air  was  admitted  freely  to  the  supposed 
corpse,  having  been  excluded,  during  the  illness  of  the  child,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  wrong  and  irrational  medical  treatment  of  that  loathsome 
and  fatal  disease,  then  universal.  Such  a  disposition  of  the  body,  after 
death,  may  be  justly  condemned,  because  it  is  a  departure  from  the 
usage  of  Christian  communities  in  this  matter  which  offends  and  dis 
turbs  them,  and  wants  the  solemnity,  inipressiveness,  and  consolation 
of  their  accustomed  funeral  rites.  But  it  is  not  without  its  advantages. 
Cremation  quickly  dissolves  the  body,  deserted  by  its  immortal  tenant, 
without  the  revolting  circumstances  of  its  decomposition  in  the  grave  ; 
and  had  cremation  been  universal,  there  would  have  been  escape  from 
one  source  of  pestilence  and  death  in  the  hearts  of  great  cities,  and  from 
the  careless  and  sometimes  shocking  disinterments,  which  have  been  too 
frequent,  when  the  greed  of  gain  has  appropriated  church-yards  or  the 
necessities  of  the  living  have  compelled  encroachment  upon  the  man 
sions  of  the  dead.  Cremation  was  never  universal  in  any  nation,  being 
too  expensive  for  the  poor.  It  has  been  estimated  that  not  less  than 
three  hundred  pounds  of  wood  were  necessary  to  burn  a  corpse.  The 
expense,  too,  increased  as  the  country  was  denuded  of  wood,  and  crema 
tion  was  gradually  disused.  Christians  have  always  committed  their 
dead  to  the  earth,  because  this  disposition  of  them  seemed  more  accord 
ant  with  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  than  burning  them. 

20 


298  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

I  am  much  better,  and,  through  the  tender  mercy  of  my 
God,  my  family  are  in  usual  health.  Mrs.  Greenman  de 
sires  to  be  affectionately  remembered  to  Mrs.  Head,  and 
joins  in  the  most  cordial  respects  to  yourself,  with,  honored 
sir,  your  grateful,  much  obliged,  and  most  obedient  humble 
servant, 

"  NEHEMIAH  GREENMAN." 

I  have  not  found  among  Mr.  Read's  papers  the  rough 
draft  of  his  letter  to  which  Mr.  McKean  replied  as  follows: 

"  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  29th  of  December  did  not  reach 
me  until  the  24th  of  January,  when,  duly  reflecting  upon 
every  circumstance,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  come  here, 
though,  I  confess,  I  am  almost  tired  of  serving  my  country 
so  much  at  my  own  expense.  I  left  home  on  [the]  29th 
of  last  month,  and  went  into  Congress  next  morning,  where 
I  found  only  nine  States  represented,  and,  including  myself, 
but  eighteen  members,  though  five,  now  at  the  camp,  and 
some  others  are  expected  in  a  few  days.  I  hope  General 
Eodney  and  Major  Van  Dyke  will  come  as  soon  as  possible; 
but  don't  tell  them  that  I  lived  in  a  little  Dutch  tavern,  at 
an  enormous  expense,  for  ten  days,  before  I  could  get  other 
lodgings,  and  that  I  still  am  on  sufferance. 

"  The  situation  of  Delaware  gives  me  constant  anxiety. 
The  choice  of  representatives  in  October,  1776,  and  their 
choice  of  officers,  have  occasioned  all  its  misfortunes. 
Nothing  but  effectual  laws,  vigorously  executed,  can  pos 
sibly  save  it,  and  there  seems  to  me  not  the  least  prospect 
of  the  former,  and  when  I  learn  that  not  a  single  step  is 
taken  towards  collecting  the  fines  under  the  present  inade 
quate  militia  law,  or  to  punish  the  most  impudent  traitors, 
or  even  the  harboring  of  deserters,  I  despair  of  any  law, 
tending  to  support  the  freedom,  independence,  and  sove 
reignty  of  the  State,  being  executed,  especially  in  Kent  and 
Sussex.  The  conduct  of  the  General  Assembly,  having 
neither  imposed  a  tax  for  reducing  the  paper  bills  of  credit, 
nor  passed  the  laws  necessary  even  in  times  of  profound 
peace,  much  less  for  completing  their  quota  of  troops,  put 
ting  their  militia  on  a  respectable  footing,  etc.  etc.,  is  too 
conspicuous  not  to  cause  the  disagreeable  animadversions  I 
am  obliged  continually  to  hear. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  299 

"  I  shall  endeavor  to  procure  the  account  against  the 
State,  from  the  Auditor-General,  as  soon  as  possible.  The 
votes  of  Congress,  since  January,  1776,  printed  by  Aitken, 
are  not  yet  come  to  hand,  though  they  have  been  sent  out 
of  Philadelphia.  I  shall  send  you  all  that  can  be  got,  not 
knowing  to  what  time  they  are  printed  up. 

"  Who  can  I  propose  in  exchange  for  the  President  ?  Do 
inform  me,  if  you  can  think  of  any  one.  None  occurs  to 
me  but  Governor  Franklin,  and  hearing  a  gentleman  say 
that  he  could  do  more  mischief  than  the  President  could  do 
good,  and  for  other  reasons,  which  will  readily  suggest 
themselves  to  you,  I  have  little  hope  of  success  from  that 
proposition.  I  was  told  the  other  day  that  he  lodged  at 
widow  Jenkins's,  along  with  his  old  friends  Robinson  and 
Manlove,  and  seemed  very  happy;  these  observations,  and 
many  others,  from  different  gentlemen,  whenever  I  name 
him  in  private  to  any  member,  almost  discourage  me;  how 
ever,  after  I  hear  from  you,  I  shall  attempt  to  have  him 
released  (though  I  could  wish  my  colleagues  to  be  present 
and  assisting),  lest  it  should  be  thought  that  I  was  indiffer 
ent  about  the  event. 

"  Notwithstanding  all  the  diffidence  you  so  modestly  ex 
press  of  yourself,  the  State  of  Delaware  think  themselves 
happier,  and  I  am  sure  they  are  in  wiser  hands  than  those 
of  your  predecessor. 

"  In  answer  to  your  favor  by  your  brother  you  will  receive 
ten  thousand  dollars  to  be  expended  in  recruiting  only,  as 
Congress  have  lately  purchased  clothing,  to  a  very  great 
amount,  at  Boston,  etc.,  and  the  battalion  will  be  furnished 
by  the  Clothier-General.  If  more  should  be  wanted  you 
will  be  pleased  to  write  to  me  again,  but  I  should  advise 
that  the  recruiting  officers  should  first  render  you  an  account 
of  the  expenditure  of  this  sum.  No  letter  from  General 
Srnallwood  has  yet  appeared  in  Congress ;  when  it  does^  I 
shall  attend  to  it.  The  whole  affair,  in  my  opinion,  respect 
ing  the  schooner,  rests  with  the  Judge  of  Admiralty  in  the 
first  place,  and  must  be  decided  upon  the  resolves  of  Con 
gress  (there  being  none  but  what  you  have  relating  to  this 
subject)  and  the  laws  of  England.  An  appeal  lies  to  Con 
gress.  The  case  is  undoubtedly  in  favor  of  the  State,  and 
not  the  first  possessor,  whether  a  wreck  or  dereliction. 

"I  have  no  news  but  what  Major  Read  can  tell  you,  and, 


300  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

therefore,  shall  conclude  with  my  best  compliments  to  Mrs. 
Read. 

"  Sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  THOMAS  McKEAN.* 
"YORK,  February  12th,  1778." 

The  Commander-in-Chief  wrote  as  follows  to  Mr.  Read 
from 

"  YALLEY  FORGE,  February  18th,  1778. 

"  SIR, — For  reasons  that  will  be  obvious  to  you  it  is 
thought  the  publication  of  the  inclosed  '  Address'  may  an 
swer  valuable  ends;  and  I  beg  leave  to  submit  to  you 
whether  it  may  not  serve  to  increase  its  effect  if  it  were 
ushered  into  the  papers,  in  your  State,  with  a  recommenda 
tory  line  from  yourself.  If  you  should  suppose  there  would 
be  any  impropriety  in  this,  you  will  be  pleased,  notwith 
standing,  to  commit  the  'Address'  itself  to  the  printer. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  sir,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

"  GEO.  WASHINGTON." 

On  the  letter  is  wrritten  "Proclamation"  received  28th 
Feb.  1778,  per  Col.  Blane.  Answered. 

General  Washington  again  addressed  the  letter  to  Mr. 
Read,  next  inserted,  from 

"HEAD-QUARTERS,  22d  February,  1778. 

"  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  5th  instant,  inclosing  a  copy 
of  a  letter  from  you  to  General  Smallwood,  dated  the  26th 
ultimo,  and  the  substance  of  his  answer,  did  not  reach  me 
till  the  day  before  yesterday. 

"It  gives  me  great  concern  to  find  that  the  Legislature 
of  your  State  has  not  taken  timely  and  effectual  means  for 
completing  the  battalion  belonging  to  it.  However  desira 
ble  the  mode  of  volunteer  enlistment  might  be,  if  it  offered 
any  adequate  prospect  of  success,  our  circumstances  evi 
dently  demand  measures  of  more  prompt  and  certain  execu 
tion.  It  is  incumbent  therefore  upon  your  legislative  body, 
as  a  duty  which  they  owe  both  to  their  own  State  and  the 
continent  at  large,  to  pursue  with  energy  the  method  of 
drafting,  which  has  been  successfully  practised  in  other 

*  For  notice  of  Thomas  McKean,  see  Appendix  H. 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  301 

States;  indeed,  I  expect  you  will  shortly  be  called  upon 
by  Congress  for  this  purpose. 

"  The  property  of  the  clothing  taken  in  the  prize-sloop 
will,  I  presume,  be  determined  by  certain  resolutions  of 
Congress,  copies  of  which  were  sent  to  General  Srnallwood, 
in  order  to  settle  a  dispute  of  a  similar  nature;  but  how 
ever  this  matter  be  decided,  you  ought  undoubtedly  to 
secure  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  necessary  article  to  sup 
ply  the  wants  of  the  Delaware  battalion. 

"  I  am  totally  ignorant  of  any  interruption  having  been 
given  by  the  military  to  the  election  of  representatives  in 
your  State.  It  is  much  to  be  lamented  that,  at  a  season 
when  our  affairs  demand  the  most  harmony  and  greatest 
vigor  in  all  public  proceedings,  there  should  be  any  languor 
occasioned  by  divisions.  Your  efforts  cannot  be  better  em 
ployed  than  in  conciliating  the  discordant  parties,  and 
restoring  union. 

"The  complaints  against  the  commissaries  of  purchases, 
I  fear,  are  too  well  founded.  Such  orders  shall  be  given  to 
the  principal  of  the  department  for  this  district  as  will,  I 
hope,  in  some  degree  remedy  the  evils  complained  of. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  sir,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

WASHINGTON. 


"The  Hon.  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Vice-President  of  the 
State  of  Delaware." 

The  next  letter  from  Mr.  Read  to  the  Commander-in-Chief 
was  written  from 

"DOVER,  March  2d,  1778. 

"SiR,  —  Your  favor  of  the  26th  of  February  was  handed 
to  me  by  Captain  Lee,  who  was  mistaken  in  his  representa 
tion  that  there  was  no  law  in  the  State  to  punish  the  har 
boring  of  deserters.  Such  a  law  was  enacted  in  February, 
1777,  upon  your  recommendation,  and  the  mode  of  recover 
ing  the  penalties  therein  is  both  easy  and  expeditious.  It 
may  be  said,  and  I  think  with  justice,  that  these  penalties 
are  now  too  small,  owing,  in  some  degree,  to  the  rapid  de 
preciation  of  the  currency  of  the  States,  and  you  may  rely 
on  my  laying  this  before  the  General  Assembly,  who,  un 
doubtedly,  will  remedy  this  defect.  What  may  be  the 
number  of  deserters  among  us,  or  the  conduct  of  the  people 


302  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

generally  towards  them,  I  will  not  venture  to  say  positively, 
but  upon  the  best  information  I  have  as  yet  obtained,  I 
suspect  the  representation  made  to  you  is  exaggerated.  So 
far  as  this  may  extend  to  Captain  Lee,  he  is  no  otherwise 
chargeable  than  [for]  relying  on  the  information  of  some 
of  the  military  that  were  here  before  him,  who  speak  and 
act  at  random. 

"Your  favors  of  the  18th  and  22d  February  were  de 
livered  to  me  by  Colonel  Blane.  I  have  ordered  copies  of 
your  inclosed  (  Address'  to  be  made,  and  circulated  through 
out  the  State,  as  we  have  no  newspapers  printed  within  it. 
At  the  first  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  I  laid  before 
thorn  your  favor  of  the  19th  of  January,  recommending 
the  method  of  drafting  as  the  only  effectual  one  to  complete 
their  battalion,  but  they  have  not  adopted  it.  Instead 
thereof  they  increased  the  bounty  to  the  recruit  by  adding 
forty-five  dollars,  and  gave  a  premium  of  thirty-five  more 
to  the  officer  who  enlists  him.  In  this  I  learn  the  mem 
bers  were  very  unanimous.  Could  this  have  been  done  in 
November  last,  it  might  have  answered  the  end,  but  I  think 
it  inadequate  now.  The  officers,  since  this  vote,  have  en 
listed  about  fifty  persons.  You  had  just  cause  to  express 
your  concern  that  the  Legislature  had  not  taken  timely  and 
effectual  means  for  raising  their  quota  of  troops,  as  you 
knew  it  had  been  specially  required  by  Congress  in  their 
resolutions  of  the  17th  of  October  last,  but  neither  those 
resolves  nor  any  others,  passed  since  the  battle  of  Brandy- 
wine,  were  transmitted  to  us  till  the  10th  of  February  last; 
all  those  transmitted  before  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
enemy,  with  our  President,  which  I  made  known  to  Con 
gress  in  November. 

"As  to  clothing, — I  have  reason  to  believe  we  shall 
have  a  sufficiency  for  the  beginning  of  the  campaign,  in 
cluding  that  taken  from  the  wrecked  schooner  I  mentioned 
to  you  in  my  last  letter,  but  my  intelligence  from  Congress, 
of  the  12th  of  February,  is  that  they  have  lately  purchased 
clothing  to  a  very  great  amount  at  Boston,  and  the  battalion 
will  be  furnished  by  the  Clothier-General.  I  doubt  the  fact, 
and  know  well  such  accounts  have  fatal  effects,  lulling  the 
people  at  large,  who  are  inclined  to  credit  everything  of  the 
sort,  into  inaction, — so  it  has  frequently  happened  as  to  the 
numbers  of  your  army. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  303 

"Your  Excellency  could  not  be  supposed  to  know  of  the 
interruption  given  by  the  military  to  the  election  of  repre 
sentatives,  mentioned  in  my  last,  as  the  corps  which  occa 
sioned  it  have  been  raised,  and  continued  under  the  imme 
diate  direction  of  Congress.  Had  it  been  otherwise,  I  should 
have  explained  the  conduct  to  you.  An  election  hath  been 
ordered  [by  the  Legislature]  at  their  [late]  meeting,  and 
this  is  the  day  for  the  holding  of  it.  I  have  hopes  we  shall 
do  better. 

"  Believe  me,  sir,  I  feel  for  your  situation :  it  is  a  delicate 
one,  and  I  well  know  that  you  have  not  that  support 
which  it  is  our  (I  mean  the  Middle  States)  duty  and  inter 
est  to  afford  yap ;  however,  I  shall  use  my  best  endeavors 
in 'this  small  department  to  further  it,  and  I  am,  with  great 
esteem  and  respect,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"  GENERAL  WASHINGTON." 

Mr.  Read  replied  as  follows  to  Mr.  McKean's  letter  of 
the  12th  of  February,  1778,  from 

"DOVER,  March  4th,  1778. 

"  SIR, — Your  favor  of  the  12th  ultimo  was  delivered  to 
me  by  Major  Read,  with  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  re 
cruiting  service,  which  I  immediately  put  into  the  hands 
of  General  Rodney  to  distribute  among  the  officers  now  out 
upon  that  business,  who  have  orders  to  state  their  expendi 
tures,  and  report  them  upon  their  next  application  for 
moneys.  You  have  inclosed  a  copy  of  some  resolutions  of 
the  General  Assembly  for  the  more  speedy  filling  up  of  our 
battalion,  by  an  addition  of  bounty,  and  a  premium  to  the 
officers,  in  which  I  am  authorized  to  apply  to  Congress  for 
a  loan  of  forty  thousand  dollars.  Such  is  the  state  of  our 
funds  [as  you  well  know]  that  this  must  be  the  mode  of 
supply,  therefore  I  request  you  to  obtain  that  sum,  and 
deliver  it  to  the  bearer,  Lieutenant  William  Frazier,  who 
I  send  for  the  purpose.  A  less  sum  will  not  do,  as  much 
will  be  expended  in  the  subsistence  [of  the  recruits],  and 
the  expense  of  these  special  expresses  is  great.  By  report, 
some  of  the  officers  have  had  considerable  success  already 
in  recruiting — in  the  whole  about  fifty  men.  Yet  I  cannot 
believe  the  number  wanted  will  be  made  up  in  this  way ; 
the  General  Assembly  have  thought  otherwise,  and  would 


304  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

not  consent  to  the  mode  of  drafting,  though  warmly  recom 
mended  by  General  Washington,  as  the  only  probable 
and  effectual  way,  and  on  this  occasion  I  am  told  members 
were  very  unanimous.  A  bill  for  holding  an  election  in 
Sussex,  on  the  2d  instant,  being  passed,  the  Assembly  ad 
journed  over  to  this  day.  The  situation  of  this  State  is 
much  to  be  lamented,  though  I  think  you  have  heightened 
it  in  your  coloring.  I  doubt  all  your  intelligence  respecting 
it  is  not  well  founded;  bad  we  are,  and  too  many  affect  to 
screen  themselves  by  railing  at  what  is  and  what  is  not 
done,  without  contributing  to  a  remedy, — for  instance,  as  to 
the  militia  law.  Not  the  warmest  Whig,  or  most  violent 
complainer  of  the  times  (being  an  officer  of  the  militia),  has 
taken  one  step  to  carry  any  part  thereof  into  execution, 
which  will  have  this  bad  consequence,  that  much  greater 
difficulties  must  attend  the  carrying  any  future  law  of  the 
sort  into  execution,  as  well  as  a  total  loss  of  the  fines,  under 
the  present  law,  however  inadequate,  which  by  this  time 
would  have  made  a  useful  fund.  A  great  mistake  among 
many  of  us  has  been  to  set  at  naught  such  acts  of  legisla 
tion  as  do  not  exactly  tally  with  our  own  sentiments;  this 
has  a  fatal  tendency  at  all  times,  but  particularly  at  the 
present,  making  each  individual  a  judge  of  what  he  ought 
and  of  what  he  ought  not  to  submit  to.  Not  a  single  reso 
lution  of  Congress  was  transmitted  to  me  since  I  came  into 
the  Presidency  till  the  10th  ultimo,  but  the  two  you  sent 
relating  to  the  trade  carried  on  by  the  disaffected,  a  want 
of  representation  in  Congress,  and  the  appointment  of  a  day 
of  thanksgiving,  though  I  wrote  to  the  President  of  Con 
gress,  on  the  25th  November,  for  copies  of  such  as  this 
State  ought,  or  was  expected  to  act  upon ;  every  public 
paper  transmitted  to  President  McKinley  being  lost  to  us. 
Mr.  President  Laurens  (to  whom  I  beg  you  to  present  my 
compliments  and  thanks)  did  at  last  obtain  some  copies 
from  the  Secretary's  office,  which  he  inclosed  with  a  line  of 
the  30th  January,  delivered  to  me  by  Parson  Montgomery 
on  the  10th  ultimo,  as  mentioned  before;  but  he  omitted  a 
very  essential  one,  the  Plan  of  Confederation,  though  he  sent 
a  copy  of  the  recommendatory  resolve  to  invest  the  dele 
gates  with  power  to  assent  thereto.  For  my  own  part,  I 
had  not  seen  it  till  I  accidentally  laid  my  hands  on  a  printed 
copy  belonging  to  Cecil  County,  where  my  family  are. 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  305 

Mentioning  this,  leads  me  to  ask  what  you  think  of  some 
particular  expressions  therein,  to  wit:  '  provided  also  that 
no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States/ — in  the  last  of  the  second  section,  article 
nine;  and  in  the  same  article,  section  fourth,  'regulating 
the  trade,  and  managing  all  affairs  with  the  Indians,  not 
members  of  any  of  the  States,  provided  that  the  legislative 
right  of  any  State,  within  its  own  limits,  be  not  infringed 
or  violated.'  In  the  8th  article,  providing  for  a  common 
treasury,  in  proportion  to  the  value  of  all  land  within  each 
State,  granted,  or  surveyed  by  any  person ;  query,  What 
ought  to  be  the  extent  or  limits  of  the  territory  of  Virginia 
or  Massachusetts?  if  not  the  absurd  claim  to  the  South 
Sea,  is  it  not  necessary  to  be  settled  now?  Query,  Is  it  a 
practicable  scheme  to  value  the  lands  of  the  continent  for 
taxation  ?  If  so,  query,  if  the  States  who  have  known  and 
very  small  limits  ought  to  have  every  foot  of  their  land 
rated  for  the  protection  of  the  ungranted  lands  in  these 
boundless  empires?  Query,  If  such  a  fund  may  not  be 
formed  in  the  boundless  States  from  the  grants  of  lands  as 
will  tend  to  diminish  the  present  inhabitants  of  the  other 
States  by  migrations  there,  and  discourage  European  set 
tlers  from  fixing  in  the  bounded  States  ?  Query,  If  they 
[the  boundless  States]  may  not  prove  dangerous  to  the 
liberties  of  America  from  their  extent  and  internal  strength? 
I  will  not  add  to  this  list ;  these  are  terrifying  to  me,  and 
sufficiently  account  for  the  speedy  approbation,  as  published, 
from  those  two  States ;  and,  besides,  I,  with  a  multitude  of 
others,  have  been  taught  to  expect  that. all  lands  not  pur 
chased  from  or  ceded  by  the  Indians  to  the  king  of  Great 
Britain,  as  the  proprietor  of  the  colonies,  were  to  be  con 
sidered  as  belonging  to  the  United  States  generally,  and 
might  procure  for  them  a  fund  to  pay  our  great  debt  with? 
I  have  my  doubts  as  to  the  whole  of  the  third  section, 
article  nine:  will  it  not  have  a  bad  effect  upon  our  State? 
But  to  return  to  the  subject  of  the  resolves  of  Congress,  and 
particularly  those  relating  to  our  quota  of  troops,  and  their 
clothing,  they  could  not  be  acted  upon  till  made  known, 
and  the  same  may  be  said  of  laying  a  tax,  for  sinking  our 
proportion  of  five  millions  of  dollars,  in  the  present  year; 
with  this  that  the  military  in  Sussex,  established  by  Con 
gress,  independent  of  any  authority  in  this  State,  prevented 


306  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

a  representation  from  a  third  of  the  taxables  thereof,  for 
the  time  past,  and  according  to  the  American  creed  repre 
sentation  is  necessary  for  taxation.  Much  more  might  be 
added  to  lessen  the  charges  made  against  us;  yet  I  am 
satisfied  much  must  be  done  to  wipe  off  such  as  are  justly 
founded.  I  own  the  prospect  is  rather  gloomy,  but  we  are 
not  to  despair.  No  man  is  in  a  more  difficult  and  unlucky 
situation  than  myself.  Without  any  fixed  habitation  in  the 
State,  with  little  assistance  or  prospect  of  assistance,  [and] 
in  want  of  health  and  ability  of  body,  I  will  not  add  of 
mind,  though  also  true,  lest  I  be  suspected  of  seeking  a 
compliment. 

"I  showed  Generals  Rodney  and  Patterson  that  part  of 
your  letter  which  related  to  President  McKinley;  neither 

of  them  or  myself  had  hea/d  of  his  lodging  with ,  and 

General  Kodney  thinks  it  cannot  be,  for  he  has  been  told 

by  those  who  knew,  and  might  be  relied  on,  that was 

at ,  and at  one 's,  a  shoemaker,  and  had  lodged 

there  from  the  time  of  his  going  into  Philadelphia.  General 
Rodney  says  the  President  now  lodges  at  one 's,  oppo 
site  Christ  Church.  I  cannot  pretend  to  point  out  a  person 
to  exchange  for  the  President,  but  submit  it  to  you,  on  a 
review  of  the  list  of  prisoners  on  the  civil  line  tinder  the 
immediate  direction  of  Congress,  which  General  Washing 
ton  seems  to  refer  to  in  a  paragraph  of  his  letter  to  me  on 
that  subject,  an  extract  from  which,  I  think,  you  have  in 
mine  of  the  29th  of  December  last.  As  to  the  presence  of 
your  colleagues  on  this  or  any  other  occasion,  shortly,  you 
are  not  to  expect  it.  Mr.  Rodney  is  very  necessary  here, 
and  as  to  Mr.  Yan  Dyke,  the  situation  of  his  family  will 
keep  him  for  awhile.  For  my  own  part,  I  think  it  a 
piece  of  justice  due  to  every  captive  to  procure  his  release 
as  soon  as  practicable,  upon  honorable  terms;  and  as  to  the 
President  and  his  unlucky  captivity,  I  am  convinced  he 
meant  to  support  the  cause  of  America  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power,  and  I  therefore  wish  you  success  in  the  application. 

"The  bad  weather  we  have  had  has  delayed  the  express 
to  this  day  (the  9th  of  March),  which  enables  rne  to  inclose 
you  a  list  of  the  members  for  Sussex.  The  most  of  them 
came  to  town  last  evening,  and  only  three  members  from 
New  Castle  County,  so  that  we  have  not  had  a  House  since 
the  25th  ultimo.  Mr.  Rodney  says  that  he  has  nearly 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  307 

paid  the  ten  thousand  dollars  to  the  recruiting  officers,  one  of 
whom,  Lieutenant  Brown,  came  in  yesterday  from  Marshy 
Hope  Bridge,  where  he  had  enlisted  fourteen  men  on  the 
Friday  preceding,  all  volunteers,  who  came  in  for  the  pur 
pose,  so  that  our  prospect  is  very  flattering  in  this  way  at 
present.  Fail  not  to  obtain  the  loan,  and  give  despatch  to 
the  messenger,  a  lieutenant  in  the  troop  of  horse  of  this 
county,  and  you  will  oblige  him,  as  well  as  your  most 
obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"Honorable  THOMAS  McKEAN." 

A 

Mr.  McKean  replied  as  follows  to  this  letter,  from 

"  YORKTOWN,  April  3d,  1778. 

"SiR, — When  I  attended  the  General  Assembly  of  this 
State,  in  December  last,  they  obtained  a  promise  that  I 
would  give  a  little  assistance  in  drafting  some  bills,  at 
their  adjournment  in  March,  at  which  time  I  accordingly, 
in  pursuance  of  a  letter  from  the  Speaker,  went  to  Lancas 
ter,  and,  having  stayed  there  ten  days,  returned  to  York  on 
the  19th.  During  the  interval  your  favor  of  the  4th  of 
March,  by  Lieutenant  Frazier,  arrived  at  York,  and  by  the 
advice  of  the  express,  was  opened  by  the  President,  and 
read  in  Congress.  It  was  well  there  was  nothing  private 
in  it,  and  I  must  confess  you  gave  me  more  agreeable  pros 
pects"  of  our  little  State,  and  more  sincere  pleasure,  than 
anything  relating  to  it  had  done  for  three  years  past.  I 
congratulate  you  on  the  Whig  election  in  Sussex.  With 
such  a  General  Assembly  as  the  present,  what  could  I  have 
done,  or  rather,  what  could  I  not  have  do?  Sure  I  am  you 
will  make  a  proper  use  of  this  most  fortunate  occurrence, 
in  which  there  appears  visibly  the  hand  of  Provideince, 
which  can  alone  save  this  deluded  State.  Though  th£  re 
solve  for  completing  the  quota  of  troops  by  drafting  in  the 
several  States  passed  against  my  consent,  yet  as  Virginia, 
Maryland,  Pennsylvania,  the  four  New  England  States, 
etc.  have  agreed  to  it,  I  should  have  been  glad  even  if  the 
General  Assembly  had  proceeded  no  further  in  this  business; 
this  would  have  showed  a  respect  for  the  recommendation 
of  Congress,  encouraged  the  recruiting  service  by  making 
it  the  interest  of  every  individual  in  the  State,  and  pre- 


308  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

vented  an  opinion  that  I  had  wrote  to  the  General  Assem 
bly  against  the -measure,  which  I  never  did,  nor,  indeed, 
did  I  ever  hint  the  matter  to  any  person  whatever. 

"As  to  the  proviso  in  the  second  section  of  article  ninth 
of  the  Confederation,  quoted  by  you,  to  wit,  '  provided  that 
no  State  shall  be  deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States,'  my  opinion  is  that  it  must  be  referred  to  the 
subject-matter  of  the  preceding  paragraph,  and  may,  by  a 
fair  construction,  mean  that  in  a  contest  between  two  States 
respecting  boundaries,  the  territory  taken  from  the  one 
shall  be  added  to  the  other,  and  not  adjudged  for  the  benefit 
of  the  United  States;  and  yet,  I  confess,  I  have  apprehen 
sions  that  it  may  hereafter  be  insisted  to  mean  what  you 
seem  to  fear.  Some  gentlemen  with  whom  I  have  con 
versed  on  this  affair  say,  if  the  intention  of  Congress  was 
that  Virginia,  etc.  should  be  deemed  at  present  to  extend 
to  the  South  Sea,  yet  no  injury  could  arise  from  thence  to 
any  of  the  United  States,  for  that  Delaware,  for  instance, 
has  a  right  to  apply  for  one  or  more  townships  for  their 
troops,  to  be  laid  out  equally  with  Virginia  in  that  State, 
without  paying  any  purchase-money,  or  any  other  expense, 
more  than  that  of  surveying,  which  Virginians  themselves 
must  pay;  and  that  if  that  State  increases  its  inhabitants 
it  will  have  more  to  pay  towards  the  support  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States,  and  in  the  same  proportion 
lessen  the  burden  of  the  other  States;  but  if  Virginia,  etc. 
grow  too  large,  the  people  themselves  will  insist  upon  a  new 
State  or  States  to  be  erected,  even  if  Congress  should  be 
passive,  and  no  good  reason  can  be  assigned  for  refusing 
such  a  requisition  whenever  it  may  be  proper  to  grant  it. 
The  Stockbridge  Indians  in  New  Hampshire  and  Connecti 
cut,  the  Oneidas  in  New  York,  etc.,  were,  I  suppose,  the 
objects  of  the  fourth  section  of  the  same  article.  The 
third  section  of  the  ninth  article  seems  to  have  been  cal 
culated  for  the  disputed  lands  of  purchasers  under  Maryland 
and  Delaware,  and  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania;  but  upon 
the  whole,  it  may  not  be  an  improper  method  of  adjusting 
such  controversies.  If  Delaware  had  been  represented  in 
Congress  at  the  time  the  finishing  was  given  to  the  Confed 
eration  it  would,  I  am  persuaded,  have  been  a  public  benefit 
as  well  as  a  particular  one  to  that  State;  but  matters  are 
too  far  gone,  I  fear,  to  procure  any  alterations,  so  many 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  309 

States  have  already  empowered  their  delegates  to  ratify  it; 
however,  I  will  exert  every  nerve  to  accomplish  any  meas 
ure  which  shall  be  recommended  by  my  constituents,  who 
may  think  it  advisable  to  direct  their  deputies  to  endeavor 
to  procure  any  explanation  of  certain  doubtful  expressions 
in  different  articles,  if  they  should  not  think  it  proper  to 
do  more. 

"  Nothing  has  been  effected  with  regard  to  President 
McKinley ;  but  as  the  cartel  for  the  general  exchange  is 
now  debating  and  settling  between  three  commissioners  on 
the  part  of  General  Washington  and  the  like  number  on 
the  part  of  General  Howe,  in  Germantown,  where  they  met 
on  the  last  day  of  March,  I  hope  in  a  few  weeks  something 
favorable  for  him  may  be  done. 

"  If  you  can  procure  any  clothing  for  the  Delaware  bat 
talion  it  may  be  useful,  but  I  am  confident  there  is  sufficient 
for  the  whole  army  already  purchased  by  Congress  for  above 
a  year,  and  yet  I  am  told  the  most  of  the  troops  are  naked. 
Peculation,  neglect  of  duty,  avarice,  and  insolence  in  most 
departments  abound,  but,  with  the  favor  of  God,  I  shall 
contribute  my  part  to  drag  forth  and  punish  the  culprits, 
though  some  of  them  are  high  in  rank,  and  characters  I  did 
not  suspect. 

"  You  will  also  receive  a  little  pamphlet  of  the  Earl  of 
Abington,  which  is  worth  your  perusal.  General  Rodney 
is  not  yet  arrived,  nor  could  I  procure  a  lodging  for  him  in 
town  when  he  comes ;  indeed,  when  I  return  I  shall  be  at 
an  equal  loss  for  myself.  This  is  discouraging,  but  we  must 
not  expect  much  comfort  during  this  great  and  glorious 
struggle.  It  is  reported  Howe  is  recalled,  and  is  to  be  suc 
ceeded  by  Lord  Townshend.  This  will  be  an  active  and, 
I  fear,  a  bloody  campaign. 

"  I  find  you  give  up  the  command-in-chief  to  General 
Rodney,  so  that  perhaps  it  may  suit  you  to  come  to  Con 
gress. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  THOMAS  McKEAN. 

"Hon.  GEORGE  READ." 

As  the  persistence  of  the  mother-country  in  her  measures, 
short-sighted  and  mistaken,  as  they  were  selfish  and  unjust, 
widened  the  breach  between  her  and  her  colonies,  the  Con- 


310  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENGE 

tinental  Congress,  elected  to  obtain  redress  of  intolerable 
grievances,  was  compelled  to  assume  the  powers  of  a  con 
federacy  of  States,  without  waiting  for  the  formal  grant  of 
them,  to  levy  armies,  issue  and  borrow  money,  appoint 
diplomatic  agents,  and  generally  to  regulate  the  internal 
and  foreign  affairs  of  their  country.  This  loose  connection 
of  thirteen  independent  communities  sufficed  only  for  a 
brief  period,  for  its  inadequacy  for  home  government  was 
soon  apparent,  and  it  was  in  no  long  time  evident  that  for 
eign  nations,  whose  aid  was  necessary  to  secure  independ 
ence,  would  not  treat  with  a  confederacy  existing  only  by 
force  of  circumstances  or  tacit  understanding.  A  formal 
and  written  compact  between  these  thirteen  communities 
was  therefore  indispensable.  "Articles  of  Confederation" 
were  reported  by  a  committee  of  Congress,  12th  July,  1776. 
They  were,  after  earnest  and  protracted  debates,  from  time 
to  time,  adopted,  15th  November,  1777,  and  transmitted  by 
Congress  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States,  with  its 
earnest  and  eloquent  recommendation  that  they  should 
authorize  the  ratification  of  these  articles.  It  was  next  to 
impossible  that  any  plan  of  common  government  could  be 
framed  for  thirteen  independent  States,  who,  though  having 
so  many  things  in  common  as  to  be  one  people, — Chris 
tians,  Anglo-Saxons  by  race,  inheritors  of  the  British  Con 
stitution,  common  law,  language,  literature,  arid  high 
civilization, — yet  differed  in  climate,  productions,  customs, 
manners,  religious  tenets,  and  forms  of  worship.  The 
wonder  was  not  that  there  were  points  of  difference,  but 
that  there  were  not  more.  There  were  several  objections 
to  the  "Articles  of  Confederation,"  but  the  principal  ones 
were — 1st,  to  the  mode  of  voting  in  Congress,  some  States 
holding  that  it  should  be  by  States,  others  according  to 
population  and  wealth;  2d,  to  the  rule  for  apportioning 
taxes  among  the  States;  and  3d,  to  the  disposition  of  vacant 
and  unpatented  western  lands.  The  phraseology  of  the 
charters,  upon  which  were  founded  the  extravagant  claims 
of  States  to  lands  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  is  ob 
scure,  indefinite,  and  contradictory;*  but  these  claims  were 

•j    ' 

The  western  boundary  in  several  of  the  charters  of  the  North  Ameri 
can  colonies  is  the  South  Sea,  and  the  great  extent  of  these  grants  was 
a  matter  of  profound  policy,  the  object  being  to  appropriate  as  much 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  311 

reduced  within  narrower  limits  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  of 
1763,  by  convention  between  the  colonies  in  regard  to  dis 
puted  boundaries  and  decisions  of  the  home  government.* 
It  was  contended  that  the  title  to  these  lands  west  of  the 
then  western  frontier  of  the  United  States  was  never  in 
any  of  the  colonies,  but  had  always  been  in  the  king,  and 
so  far  as  not  alienated  by  him  was  the  property  in  common 
of  all  the  colonies  through  right  of  conquest  effected  by 
their  common  blood,  money,  and  sacrifices.  From  fear  of 
the  disastrous  consequences  of  disunion,  interest,  necessity, 
and  from,  no  doubt,  patriotic  motives,  the  States  objecting 
to  the  Articles  of  Confederation  withdrew  their  opposition 
soon  after  July,  1778,  and  by  their  delegates  signed  the 
"  Articles,"  except  New  Jersey,  who  ratified  them  in  No 
vember  of  that  year,  Delaware,  who  ratified  in  February, 
1779,  and  Maryland,  that  ratified  in  1781.  This  bone  of 
contention  was  removed,  as  many  difficulties  threatening 
great  perils  have  since  been,  by  compromise — the  cession 

of  these  lands,  upon  conditions,  to  the  United  States  for 

• 

of  the  North  American  continent  as  possible  (a  settlement  on  one  part 
of  a  grant  being  held  to  give  the  possession  of  the  whole),  and  so  to 
strengthen  the  claim  of  England  against  France  or  any  other  nation. 

Three  things  were  required  to  render  the  title  to  lands  perfect, — 1st, 
a  grant  or  charter  from  the  king ;  2d,  a  purchase  of  the  soil  from  the 
Indians ;  3d,  possession. 

"  If  all  the  colonies  in  North  America,"  wrote  Pratt,  afterwards  Lord 
Camden,  "  were  to  remain  bounded,  at  this  day,  in  point  of  right,  as  they 
are  described  in  their  charters,  I  do  not  believe  there  is  one  settlement 
there  that  has  not  been  encroached  upon  or  else  has  usurped  upon  its 
neighbors,  so  that  if  the  grants  themselves  were  the  only  rule  between 
contending  plantations,  there  would  be  no  end  to  disputes,  without  un 
settling  large  tracts  of  land,  where  the  inhabitants  have  no  better  title  to 
produce  than  possession  or  posterior  grants,  which  would  be,  in  point 
of  law,  superseded  by  charters."  "  Hence  many  other  circumstances 
must  be  taken  into  consideration  besides  the  parchment  boundary,  for 
that  may  at  this  day  be  extended  or  narrowed  by  possession,  acquies 
cence,  or  agreement,  and  by  the  situation  and  condition  of  the  territory 
at  the  time  of  the  grant." — Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  pp.  66, 67,79, 80. 
-  In  the  charter  of  the  "  Great  Plymouth  Council"  and  the  charters  of 
Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  carved  out  of  it,  there  is  an  express 
grant  of  the  land  (Ibid.,  pp.  64,  66,  67)  within  their  limits,  and  the 
South  Sea  is  their  western  boundary ;  and  so  in  the  charters  of  several 
of  the  Southern  colonies. 

*  In  the  case  of  Virginia,  for  example,  to  the  lands  bounded  north  by 
the  Lakes  and  west  by  the  Mississippi. 


312  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

their  common  benefit,  New  York  leading  in  this  generous 
and  truly  patriotic  measure. 

The  share  of  Mr.  Head  in  the  ratification  by  Delaware 
will  hereafter  appear. 

Mr.  Read  was,  as  appears  by  Thomas  McKean's  letter  of 
April  3d,  1777  (ante,  p.  309),  relieved  from  the  Presidency 
of  Delaware  in  that  month  or  about  that  period,  Caesar 
Rodney  having  been  elected  to  this  office  (which  Mr.  Read 
declined)  and  entered  upon  the  discharge  of  its  duties. 

The  following  letter  is  characteristic  of  Mr.  Read,  who 
was  not  only  of  the  strictest  integrity,  but  scrupulously 
avoided  everything  which  might  bring  into  suspicion  his 
dealings  with  public  men : 

"NEW  CASTLE,  August  25th,  1778. 

"Sin, — I  am  now  applied  to  by  Mr.  Davis,  of  Kent  County, 
on  your  behalf,  to  attend  the  Court  of  Over  and  Terminer 
and  General  Jail  Delivery,  to  be  held  the  7th  of  next 
month  at  Lewistown.  He  informs  me  that  you  left  with 
him  one  hundred  pounds,  to  be  given,  as  part  of  a  fee,  for 
this  service,  and  that  you  have  authorized  him  to  say  that 
you  will  give  me  as  much  more  as  I  shall  think  I  ought  to 
have.  Mr.  Davis  also  mentions  that  he  has  heard  that 
Dorman  Loffland  expects  to  apply  to  me  to  defend  him  at 
the  same  court.  The  last  part  of  your  proposal  is  by  no 
means  satisfactory  to  me,  as  I  do  not  wish  upon  this  or  any 
other  occasion  to  be  considered  my  own  carver,  or  bringing 
persons  into  such  a  situation  as  that  I  may  exact  unreason 
ably  from  them.  I  choose  to  let  you  know  my  terms  so 
long  beforehand  that  if  you  do  not  approve  of  them  you 
may  have  the  opportunity  of  applying  elsewhere.  My 
terms  are  that  I  shall  receive  from  you.  five  hundred  pounds, 
certain,  for  my  attendance  at  the  court,  and  for  this  sum  I 
will,  if  necessary,  defend  you,  as  counsel,  in  any  one  or 
two  indictments  that  may  be  exhibited  to  that  court  against 
you,  though  if  more  I  shall 'expect  some  further  allowance; 
but  if  you  have  only  one  charge  to  apprehend  I  would  for 
this  sum  also  engage  to  defend,  as  counsel,  Mr.  Loftland  on 
any  one  indictment  or  charge  against  him,  under  the  act  of 
Assembly  commonly  styled  the  Treason-Act,  and  specially 
referred  to  in  the  Oblivion  or  Pardon-Act,  in  which  he  is 
excepted  by  name.  I  have  included  Mr.  Loffland  in  this 
proposal  that  you  may  have  it  in  your  power  to  lessen  the 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  313 

expense  with  respect  to  yourself,  if  you  shall  think  fit. 
I  have  been  particular  in  confining  my  defence  of  him  to 
charges  under  the  Treason-Act,  because  I  know  there  is  a 
charge  of  another  nature  I  will  be  at  liberty  to  decline  un 
dertaking,  if  I  shall  choose  so  to  do,  upon  a  further  and 
better  information.  The  situation  of  my  business  and 
affairs  at  this  place  is  such  that  it  will  be  extremely  incon 
venient  to  me  to  go  such  a  distance  from  them,  and  there 
fore  I  cannot  engage  my  attendance  upon  more  moderate 
terms,  so  that  if  you  expect  me  I  must  know  it  some  days 
before  to  be  prepared  for  the  occasion.  This  from  yours, 
etc., 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  To  Doctor  RENCH,  Sussex  County." 

On  this  letter  is  indorsed,  "  Draft  of  a  letter  delivered  to 
Mr.  Davis,  a  representative  in  Assembly  for  Kent  County, 
to  be  delivered  by  him  to  Dr.  Rench." 

As  the  fee  proposed  in  the  above  letter  would  be  paid  in 
depreciated  bills  of  credit,  which  creditors  could  not  refuse, 
if  tendered,*  it  is  much  less  than  its  nominal  amount,  and 
was  not  immoderate  for  defending  two,  and  perhaps  three 
or  four,  cases  of  the  gravest  character,  and  making  a  long 
journey  to  do  so,  with  the  inconvenience  and  loss  by  reason 
of  absence  from  his  home. 

Dr.  McKinley,  who  had  been  permitted  to  return  to  his 
home  on  parole,  solicits,  in  the  following  letter,  Mr.  Read's 
good  offices  to  effect  his  exchange : 

"WILMINGTON,  29th  August,  1778. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  am  still  of 'opinion  that  the  application 
to  Congress  for  my  exchange  had  better  be  made  by  the 
Council,  who  are  best  acquainted  with  my  conduct  and  pro- 

*  Congress  resolved  that  whosoever  should  rate  gold  or  silver  coin 
higher  than  bills  of  credit  ought  to  be  deemed  'an  enemy  to  the  liberties 
of  the  United  States  and  to  forfeit  the  money  of  which  this  difference  in 
value  was  made,  and  Congress  recommended  the  States  to  pass  laws  to 
this  effect,  and  to  make  bills  of  credit  a  legal  tender  in  payment  of  debts, 
which  should  be  forfeited  by  refusal  to  so  receive  them,  which  was  done 
by  the  States. — Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  iii.  pp.  43,  44. 
The  depreciation  of  this  paper-money  was  shown  by  the  enormous 
prices  of  articles.  See  Mr.  Read's  letter  to  General  Washington,  ante, 
page  285. 

21 


314  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

ceedings,  and  therefore  may  express  themselves  with  less 
reserve  and  caution  than  the  President  thought  it  necessary 
to  use  in  the  letter  he  intended  for  the  President  of  Con 
gress  according  to  the  copy  he  showed  me ;  and  considering 
the  pains  my  old  friends  have  taken  to  prejudice  Congress 
against  me,  perhaps  it  might  be  proper  to  give  a  detail  of 
my  services.  I  was  in  hopes  of  being  able  to  wait  upon 
you  to  consult  upon  the  mode  of  applying,  and  I  am  certain 
all  the  Council  would  be  glad  of  your  assistance,  but  my 
lameness  prevents ;  in  the  mean  time  I  have  drawn  a  rough 
sketch  of  a  resolution,  for  your  amendment,  or  rather  to 
furnish  you  with  some  hints  to  draw  a  better,  which  I  am 
well  assured  you  can  easily  do,  especially  as  you  may  have 
some  leisure  to-morrow.  Pray  oblige  me  herein,  as  you 
have  often  done  before  on  other  occasions,  but  never  in  one 
wherein  I  was  so  much  interested.  If  in  my  power  I  will 
go  and  see  you  on  Monday  morning,  and  then  I  may  be 
able  to  express  my  meaning  much  better  by  word  of  mouth 
than  in  so  short  a  letter,  but  in  the  mean  time  pray  proceed. 
"  I  am,  with  sincere  esteem,  yours  affectionately, 

"JOHN  McKlNLEY. 

"  To  the  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle, 
per  favor  of  Colonel  Bedford." 

Mr.  Read,  being  relieved  not  only  from  the  chief  magis 
tracy  of  Delaware,  but  from  attendance  upon  the  Continental 
Congress,  had  now  respite  from  public  engagements,  to  which 
he  had  been  devoted  from  the  beginning  of  the  disputes  be 
tween  the  colonies  and  parent-country.  I  find  nothing  more 
of  his  correspondence  for  the  remaining  portion  of  1778,  and 
conjecture  that  it  was  devoted  mainly  to  professional  and 
private  business,  though  being  still  a  member  of  the  Council 
of  Delaware  he  must  have  taken  some  part  in  public  affairs. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  315 


APPENDICES  TO  CHAPTER  IV. 


-A.. 
PAIRS. 

WITHOUT  the  retail  trade  the  richer  class  of  a  community  could  obtain 
necessary  commodities  at  greatly  enhanced  prices,  but  the  poor,  not  at 
all.  In  newly-settled  territories  the  retail  trade  would  be  very  limited, 
for  two  reasons, — the  scarcity  of  capital,  and  its  being  attracted  to  the 
purchase  of  land,  which,  being  cheap  and  virgin,  would  offer  the  best 
investment.  But  the  wrants  of  sparsely-inhabited  regions  have  been 
supplied,  in  the  absence  of  stores,  by  pedlars  and  fairs.  In  the  very 
infancy  of  territories  the  pedlar  was  the  only  means  of  supply  ;  in  the 
defect  of  roads  and  bridges,  he  made  his  way  into  the  very  heart  of 
these  countries,  threading  the  forests  by  bridle-paths,  and  crossing  the 
streams  on  fallen  trees,  his  stock  in  trade  on  his  back,  and  his  yard 
stick  in  his  hand.  At  every  farm-house  he  met  a  hearty  welcome,  for 
in  every  one  there  were  wants  to  be  supplied  and  superfluous  articles 
to  be  sold  or  bartered,  if  not  of  too  much  bulk  for  him  to  carry  away  ;  for 
example, — mittens  and  stockings,  into  which  the  industry  of  wives  and 
daughters  had  manufactured  the  fleeces  of  the  few  sheep  upon  each  farm. 
The  good  wives  of  every  farm-house  replenished,  as  was  needed,  their 
stocks  of  pins  and  needles,  threads  and  bobbins  and  buttons,  and 
scissors  and  thimbles.  Besides,  there  would  be  knives  for  the  men,  and 
perhaps  pipes,  and  buckles  for  their  shoes  and  stocks ;  with  clumsy 
broaches,  and  gaudy  calicoes  and  ribbons,  to  tempt  the  damsels.  And 
when  his  sales  were  made,  the  pedlar,  after  sharing,  with  hearty  wel 
come,  the  abundant  and  wholesome  and  maybe  coarse  meal  of  his  rustic 
customers,  ensconced  in  the  capacious  chimney-place,  opened  his  fardel 
of  news,  and,  with  the  latest  gossip  of  the  neighborhood,  recounted 
occurrences  in  the  colonies  and  events  abroad,  pregnant  often  with  great 
results.  But  the  main  provision  for  the  retail  trade  was  the  establish 
ment  of  fairs.  In  Pennsylvania  and  Delaware,  soon  after  their  settle 
ment,  fairs  were  allowed  (as  is  declared  by  the  act  of  Assembly 
abolishing  them  in  Kent  and  Sussex,  by  charters  or  letters-patent 
from  their  governors  or  proprietaries,  or  by  acts  of  their  assemblies, 
for  lack  of  stores  and  markets  for  the  produce  of  the  country.*  The 
sales  at  these  fairs  must  have  been  by  the  importers,  through  their 
agents,  or  by  men  who  bought  the  goods  from  the  importers,  and 
sold  them  on  their  own  account.  I  have  found  among  my  grand 
father's  papers,  an  almanac  for  1747,  which  appears  to  have  be- 

*  Delaware  Laws,  vol.  ii.  pp.  818,  819. 


316  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

longed  to  one  Ezekiel  Sykes,  so  small  (it  is  four  inches  long-  by 
two  broad)  that  it  might  have  been  felt  for  and  not  readily  grasped 
in  the  capacious  pockets  of  Ezekiel's  day.  This  almanac  has  appended 
to  it  tables  of  the  births  of  the  royal  family  of  England,  of  the  times  of 
holding  courts  in  Pennsylvania,  Jersey,  Maryland,  and  New  England, 
of  Quaker  meetings,  of  roads,  weights  of  coins,  and  of  times  of  holding 
fairs.  They  were  held  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  April  28th  and 
October  24th ;  New  Castle,  3d  of  May  and  3d  of  November ;  Chester, 
5th  May  and  5th  October;  and  Philadelphia,  16th  May  and  16th 
October,  etc.  By  almanacs  of  my  grandfather's  it  appears  there  were 
changes  in  the  days  of  holding  these  fairs.*  In  1758,  1767,  and  1761) 
they  were  held  at  Wilmington,  May  9th  and  November  4th  ;  New 
Castle,  May  14th  and  November  14th;  Chester,  16th  May  and  16th 
November;  Philadelphia,  27th  May  and  27th  November,  and  Dover, 
April  21st  and  12th  October,  etc.  To  these  fairs  came  the  people  for 
miles  around  the  towns  where  they  were  held,  the  young  generally  on 
horseback,  but  the  farmers  and  their  dames,  with  the  superfluous  pro 
ducts  of  domestic  industry,  in  their  rude  wagons,  to  supply  the  wants 
of  the  next  six  months,  and  all  in  their  best  attire  to  enjoy  the  holi 
day.  There  was  a  tempting  display,  in  the  booths  built  for  the  occa 
sion,  of  the  various  articles  from  "  home,"  suited  to  their  wants  and 
their  tastes.  There  were  puppet-shows  and  jugglers,  no  lack  of  penny- 
trumpets,  drums,  and  wooden  guns  for  the  boys,  and  dolls  for  the  girls. 
The  young  men  were  soon  contending  in  athletic  sports, — pitching  bars, 
jerking  bullets,  running,  boxing,  and  wrestling,  with  many  hard  blows 
and  hard  falls  and  rough  jests,  while  their  sweethearts,  in  their  rustic 
finery,  and  with  the  coquetry  natural  to  the  sex,  admiringly  looked  on. 
The  merry  tunes  of  many  fiddles  soon  lured  the  young  men  and  maid 
ens  to  the  dance  ;  and,  alas  !  there  were  booths  where  liquors  were  sold, 
with  the  usual  consequence,  drunkenness  and  brawls.  While  the  elders 
bargained,  the  young  ones  courted.  It  was,  indeed,  a  strange  scene  of 
business  and  frolic.  With  general  fair  dealing  there  was  some  over 
reaching.  These  fairs  long  survived  the  necessity  for  them,  for  they 
were  holidays  dear  to  the  people ;  at  last  the  sense  of  their  evils 
became  strong  enough  to  take  the  form  of  a  law  for  their  suppression, 
but  it  was  not  until  the  4th  of  June,  1785,  when  an  act,  entitled  "  An 
act  for  the  suppression  of  public  fairs  and  marts  in  the  counties  of  New 
Castle  and  Kent,"  was  passed. f  In  the  preamble  to  this  act  it  is 
declared  that  the  liberty  granted  by  charters,  letters-patent,  and  subsist 
ing  laws  to  hold  fairs  had  been  abused  by  setting  up  booths  for  the 
sale  of  strong  liquors  and  other  superfluities,  by  which  many  imprudent 
persons,  especially  young  people  and  servants,  have  been  tempted  to 
purchase  those  liquors  and  use  them  to  excess,  and  to  lay  out  large 
sums  in  the  purchase  of  articles  of  no  real  use  or  benefit;  and  quarrels 

*  There  are,  moreover,  two  pithy  maxims  which  I  extract  for  the  benefit  of 
my  readers : 

"  Compute  the  pence  of  but  one  day's  expense, 
So  many  pounds,  angels,  groats,  and  pence 
Are  spent  in  a  whole  year's  circumference." 
"  One  week's  expense  in  farthings  makes  appear 

The  shillings  and  pence  expended  in  a  year." 
f  Laws  of  Delaware,  vol.  ii.  p.  819. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  317 

have  been  excited,  and  almost  every  species  of  vice  and  immorality 
practised,  to  the  scandal  of  religion  and  the  grief  and  annoyance  of  the 
virtuous  part  of  the  community.  It  is  added  that  the  numerous  stores 
throughout  the  State,  and  ready  markets  for  the  sale  of  produce,  made 
these  fairs  unnecessary,  and  that  a  respectable  number  of  citizens  had 
petitioned  for  their  suppression.  Why  Sussex  County  was  not  included 
in  this  act  I  do  not  know,  unless  fairs  had  never  been  held  there ; 
that  no  places  in  that  county  are  mentioned  in  the  tables  of  fairs  in  the 
ancient  almanacs  I  have  cited  gives  some  plausibility  to  this  conjecture. 
To  complete  the  history  of  fairs  in  Delaware,  I  add,  that  February  3d, 
1802,  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  them  to  be  held  at  Georgetown 
and  Broad  Creek  in  Sussex,  Dover  in  Kent,  and  Middletown  in  New 
Castle  County,  for  the  sale  of  live  stock,  country  produce,  and  manufac 
tures,  except  spirituous  liquors.  But  January  20th,  1802,  an  act  of 
Assembly  was  passed  repealing  this  act,  which  will  be  thought  a 
model  act  by  those  who  have  been  perplexed  and  worried  by  the  pro 
lixity  of  statutes  ;  it  is  of  marvellous  brevity :  "  Whereas,  the  act  afore 
said  (of  3d  February,  1802,  for  the  holding  of  fairs  in  the  several 
counties  of  this  State)  hath  not  been  found  to  answer  the  purposes 
therein  contemplated,  be  it  enacted  that  the  before-recited  act,  and  every 
part  thereof,  be  and  is  hereby  repealed,  made  null  and  void."* 


B. 

LIST    OF  ABLE-BODIED  ASSOCIATORS  IN   THE    COMPANY  UNDER    MY  COMMAND. 


Slaytor  Clay, Will  not  march. 

Richard  Janvier, Will  not  march. 

John  Powell, Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

David  Morton, Same. 

George  Read, Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

Thomas  Cooch,  Jr., Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

Robert  Wiley, I'm  damn'd  if  I  march. 

Edward  Sweeney,     .     .     .     .     .  Family  in  distress. 

James  Wilson, Hired  one  in  his  place. 

Stephen  Enos, Absent. 

James  Limerick, Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

John  Booth,  Jr., Substitute  in  Continental  army. 

Samuel  Janvier, Ready  and  willing. 

Joseph  Tatlow, Will  not  march. 

Joseph  Booth, Substitute  Continental  army. 

Sampson  Smith, Will  not  march. 

Daniel' Smith,        Son  in  his  place,— drummer. 

*  Laws  of  Delaware,  vol.  iii.  p.  281.  See  the  last  paragraph  of  Appendix  C. 


318  LIFE  AND    COERESPONDENCE 

William  Clarke, Ready  and  willing. 

James  Faith, Will  not  march. 

James  Boyd, Family  in  distress. 

Samuel  Hanah, Ready  and  willing. 

Francis  Janvier, Will  not  march. 

Robert  McElcherin, Same. 

Thomas  Clay, Substitute  in  Continental  army. 

William  Scott,      .     .     .     .     .     .  Willing  to  march, — made  wag'r. 

William  Farren, Will  not  march. 

John  Enos, Absent. 

William  Hazlett,        I  never  will  march. 

Jos.  M.  Strand, Absent. 

Alexander  Montgomery,    .     .     .  Sick. 

George  Booth, Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

William  Kirk, Ready  and  willing  to  march. 

Adam  Dyet, Same. 

Robert  McGinnis, Absent. 

Daniel  Lewis,        Willing  to  march. 

William  Aiken, Same. 

James  McDonald, Same. 

Adam  Sankey, Will  not  march. 

Patrick  McCormack,      ....  Same. 

James  Morton, Same. 

Thomas  Booth, Substitute  in  Continental  army. 

James  Riddle, Sick. 

John  Price, Absent. 

Andrew  Morton, Neglected. 

Samuel  Harris, Will  not  march. 

James  Carter, Family  in  distress. 

John  Yanleuveneigh,     ....  Willing  to  march. 

Benjamin  Merritt, Same. 

Hugh  McCann, Same. 

Alexander  Langton,       ....  Same, — fifer. 

James  Farnsworth,    .     .     .     .     .  Family  in  distress. 

Niel  McCann,        One  in  his  place. 

Robert  Watson, Ready  to  march. 

James  Wiley, Absent. 

Joriel  Yanleuveneigh,    ....  Ready  to  march. 

William  Owens, Sick. 

Christian  Smith, Excused  by  colonel. 

Thomas  Nodes, I'm  damn'd  if  I  march. 

Thomas  Miller, Ready  to  march. 

Samuel  Fisher, Will  not  march. 

Daniel  Deveney, Absent. 

Hugh  Martin, Ready  to  march. 

Insloe  Anderson, Will  not  march. 

Philip  Belveale, Son  in  his  place. 

4 

"To  SAMUEL  PATTERSON,  Colonel,  D.  B.  M. 

"  I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  above  list  of  '  Associators '  is  as  they 
stand  enrolled ;  that,  on  the  refusal  of  so  many  of  the  first  quota,  I 
caused  the  whole  company  to  be  summoned,  and  those  [whose]  answers 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  319 

[are]  'ready  and  willing  to  march,'  are  now  at  head-quarters,  Wilming 
ton.  "  So  answers 

"  JOHN  CLARK,  Captain. 
"JUNE  24th,  1777." 

From  the  original,  in  possession  of  Mr.  Joseph  Henry  Rogers,  which 
he  found  among  the  papers  of  his  grandfather,  James  Booth,  who 
brought  it,  with  other  papers  belonging  to  the  State  of  Delaware,  from 
New  York,  where  they  had  been  carried  by  the  British,  who  captured 
them  soon  after  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine. 

W.  T.  R. 


C. 

I  FOUND  among  my  father's  papers,  No.  366,  vol.  iv.  (Friday,  July 
22d,  1825),  of  the  American  Watchman,  a  newspaper  published  in 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  which  contains  the  following  account  of  occur 
rences  in  that  town  immediately  after  the  battle  of  Brandy  wine : 

"  We  were  frequently  alarmed  in  the  borough  with  reports  that  the 
British  were  coming  in  to  take  us,  and  one  night,  in  particular,  the 
alarm  was  so  great  that  my  neighbors  bundled  up  such  articles  of 
clothing  and  household  linen  as  they  could  carry  on  their  backs  or 
arms.  Two  young  females  were  asked  where  they  were  going  at  that 
time  of  night:  they  answered  they  did  not  know  where  ;  but  the  morn 
ing,  as  I  was  told  at  the  time,  found  some  of  the  inhabitants  in  the 
marsh  about  the  Swedes'  Church. 

"When  they  [the  British]  actually  came  into  the  borough,  on  7th 
day  (Saturday)  morning,  after  the  battle  of  the  llth  of  the  9th  month 
(September,  1777),  they  caught  us  napping,  for  I  did  not  get  up  that 
morning  until  after  the  sun  was  up  ;  and  looking  out  of  the  window, 
saw  three  red-coats,  and  supposed  them  prisoners,  but  I  soon  found  the 
scene  was  the  reverse,  and  greatly  alarmed  were  we  all ;  and  I  with 
difficulty  ventured  to  my  father's,  for  I  and  my  brother  had  lodged  that 
night  at  Dr.  Way's  as  company  for  his  mother,  he  having  gone,  the  day 
after  the  battle,  to  assist  in  dressing  the  wounded,  and  I  think  he  did 
not  return  while  the  British  were  with  us,  which  was  about  six  weeks, 
or  until  the  last  of  the  10th  month,  October.  After  I  got  home,  I  found 
Joseph  Summerl  in  my  bed,  much  alarmed,  and  did  not  know  what  to 
do.  I  told  him  to  put  a  good  face  on  it, — there  was  an  old  coat  of 
mine  and  to  put  it  on,  which  he  did,  and  passed  safely  to  his  father's  in 
the  Jerseys,  though  he  had  been  with  his  company  at  the  action. 
Others  of  his  companions  were  not  as  fortunate,  for  some  unkind  per 
sons  had  directed  a  party  or  parties  of  the  British  to  their  residences, 
and  they  were  prisoners  before  daylight ;  among  them  I  recollect  Caleb 
Way,  a  lieutenant  of  one  of  the  companies,  John  Thelwell,  James  Brob- 
son,  and  many  others  who  I  do  not  recollect  at  this  distance  of  time. 
They  were  all  placed  under  the  horse-shed  at  Lawson's  tavern,  now 
belonging  to  James  Canby,  where  they  remained  about  sixty  hours,  and 
then  were  removed  across  the  street  to  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house. 


320  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

John  Ferris  proposed  to  two  others  to  go  up  and  see  our  townmen  and 
furnish  them  with  some  eatables,  or  inquire  of  them  [of  their  condition], 
for  it  was  said  they  had  been  hardly  dealt  with.  As  we  approached 
the  town,  we  saw  them  marched  across  the  street  and  through  the 
northwest  gate,  arid  they  placed  themselves  on  the  southeast  side  of 
the  interior,  which  prevented  our  speaking  to  any  of  them.  The  officer 
in  command,  on  the  street  side  of  the  board  fence,  was  on  the  left  of 
the  gate,  and  we  three  were  on  the  other  side  of  the  gate,  on  the  street 
side  also,  the  open  gate  between  us,  which  was  soon  shut.  The  senti 
nel  had  rested  his  gun,  with  fixed  bayonet,  against  the  wall  of  the 
house ;  the  officer  imperiously  directed  him  to  take  his  gun  and  walk 
clear  of  the  wall  and  fence,  so  as  to  use  it  freely,  '  for  these,7  said  he, 

using  harsh  language,  'might  attempt  to  escape.'     J.  F observed 

they  were  all  respectable  persons  and  would  not  attempt  it.  This  irri 
tated  the  officer,  and  he  then  turned  his  harsh  language  on  us,  and  con 
cluded  in  saying  l  they  had  no  friends  in  the  country  but  the  Quakers' 
(in  which  idea  he  was  far  wrong),  '  and  he  doubted  not  but  we  deserved 
to  be  there  imprisoned  as  those.'  The  word  '  Quaker'  I  took  up,  and 
observed  to  him,  mildly,  'that  we  were  Quakers.'  He  excused  himself, 
and  invited  us  to  his  room  in  the  tavern  to  take  a  glass  of  wine,  which 
we  did,  and  saved  ourselves  from  further  insult.  On  the  afternoon  of 
the  day  of  the  action  I  was  permitted  to  go  as  near  Chad's  Ford  as 
possible,  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  information,  for  we  were  all 
anxious  to  know  how  our  army  was  getting  on.  Well  knowing  the 
ground  leading  to  the  ford,  I  left  the  Concord  road,  at  Smith's  cross 
roads,  to  the  left,  and  was  making  my  way  on  a  by-road  to  the  scene 
of  action,  and  had  nearly  gained  the  eastern  ridge  of  the  valley  or 
bottom,  as  it  is  called,  where  I  could  see  the  operations,  but  was  inter 
rupted  by  one  of  our  light-horsemen,  who  said  he  was  stationed  there 
to  prevent  people  from  going  farther.  A  heavy  piece  of  woodland  pre 
vented  us  from  seeing  anything  in  the  direction  of  the  contending 
armies.  Here  I  was  obliged  to  remain  without  seeing  anything;  but 
all  the  hills  in  view  were  covered  with  inhabitants  who  were  as  anxious 
as  myself  to  know  how  the  thing  would  terminate,  for  the  musketry- 
firing  was  tremendous,  and  our  army  retreating  from  Birmingham 
Meeting-house  through  Dilworth  Town.  They  were  approaching  us, 
and  of  course  the  report  of  the  discharges  became  more  distinct.  Here 
I  remained  till  the  sun  was  setting,  and  then  regained  the  Concord  road 
at  where  I  had  diverged  from  it,  and  found  it  literally  full  of  people, 
flying  before  the  contending  armies,  on  foot,  on  horseback,  and  in  carts. 
Among  the  crowd  I  found  a  family  of  particular  acquaintances, — George 
Evans,  one  of  our  commissaries,  his  wife,  eldest  son  (Peter),  and 
several  younger  children;  the  youngest  I  took  up  before  me  and 
brought  to  my  father,  and  the  rest  of  the  family  followed,  except 
George,  who  the  British  wanted  to  make  a  prisoner  of,  being  an  active 
revolutionist.  This  family  were  with  us  when  the  British  took  posses 
sion  of  the  borough,  and  gave  us  much  anxiety  for  fear  they  would  be 
discovered  and  made  hostages  of,  with  a  view  to  get  hold  of  the  com 
missary  ;  but  my  father  got  them  all  out  of  the  way  by  sending  them 
into  the  country  by  different  outlets  [and  at  different]  times. 

"  Attached  to  this  part  of  the  British  army  was  an  old  acquaintance 
of  my  father, — a  Scotchman,  formerly  a  merchant  of  Philadelphia, — who 


OF  GEORGE   BEAD.  321 

had  joined  that  side  of  the  question,  and  was  a  commissary  of  prisoners. 
He  marked  our  house  for  his  quarters,  but  occupied  the  next  door  until 
the  fleet  came  up,  when  there  would  be  many  gentlemen  that  would 
want  quarters,  and  he  would  introduce  such  as  would  give  us  no 
trouble;  and  we  had  two  or  three,  one  of  them  unmilrtary,  who  came 
to  possess  himself  of  some  of  the  confiscated  farms  when  the  rebels 
[should  be]  subjected  to  royal  authority,  which  soon  [he  said]  would 
be  the  case,  and  he  used  to  tell  my  mother,  in  my  presence,  which 
of  the  farms  he  would  have.  His  name  was  Humphries  ;  he  was  very 
timid  and  feared  the  rebels  much  ;  he  landed  from  on  shipboard  about 
Grubb's  Landing,  and  on  his  way  to  the  borough  met  a  man  near  Tus- 
sey's  or  Shelpot  Hill,  and  inquired  his  name.  The  man  replied,  '  Israel 
Israel.'  From  the  name,  Humphries  was  sure  he  was  a  rebel,  but  [he] 
did  not  disturb  him,  and  [he]  came  safe  to  town.  I  discovered  much 
meanness  with  some  of  the  British  officers  of  rank,  among  them  a  Major 
Molliston.  My  father  had  a  new,  light  one-horse  cart  to  convey  things 
to  and  from  a  piece  of  ground  outside  of  the  borough ;  this  major 
stopped  me  one  day  as  I  passed  his  quarters,  the  house  now  occupied 
by  0.  Horsey,  Esquire,  and  inquired  whose  that  cart  was.  I  told  him  ; 
no  more  passed.  I  told  my  father  what  had  occurred  ;  he  told  me  to  go 
to  the  major  and  say  he  should  have  it  for  such  a  sum,  in  gold, — about 
half  its  value, — 'for,'  he  said,  'they  will  take  it  when  they  go  away, 
without  pay.'  I  did  so,  and  he  agreed  to  give  me  so  much  gold.  The 
cart  was  sent  to  him,  and  I  went  for  payment,  but  instead  of  gold,  he 
paid  me  in  loan-office  paper  money  of  this  State,  that  they  had  obtained 
by  surprise  at  New  Castle  or  Wilmington. 

"  I  was  very  intimate  with  this  commissary  of  prisoners,  and  used  to 
be  often  with  him  when  he  was  writing.  One  afternoon  three  officers 
of  the  line  came  to  see  him,  and  were  conversing  freely  on  different 
subjects, — one  was  General  Washington.  Two  of  them,  in  particular, 
were  commending  Washington  much ;  the  other,  who  had  said  little  on 
the  subject,  closed  by  saying,  '  I  like  my  George  the  best,'  meaning 
George  III.,  his  king.  I  loved  Washington,  and  I  thought  he  ought  to 
love  him  also,  as  his  companion  had  spoken  so  freely  in  his  favor. 

"  An  account  of  the  number  of  British  troops  that  occupied  the  town 
was  sent  by  an  inhabitant  to  General  Washington,  and  he  had  planned 
an  attack  on  the  British,  but  they  evacuated  the  place  sooner  than  he 
expected,  as  I  was  since  informed ;  and  I  understood  Captain  (now 
Major)  C.  P.  Bennett  was  to  have  been  one  of  the  officers  in  that  expe 
dition,  as  Wilmington  was  his  birthplace,  and  he  knew  every  avenue 
leading  into  the  borough.  Their  fate  was  reserved  for  their  attack  on 
our  fort  at  Red  Bank,  on  the  Jersey  shore,  where  they  were  severely 
beaten,  and  Count  de  Nap  [Donop],  one  of  the  Hessian  commanders, 
fell.  The  71st  Regiment  of  Highlanders  was  one  morning  drawn  up  in 
open  line,  facing  the  southeast,  in  Pasture  Street,  on  the  northwest 
side  of  the  rope-walk,  and  extended  from  Rennet  road  toward  the  fur 
nace.  As  a  person  passed  them  in  front,  and  he  turned  up  the  Kennet 
road,  and  but  a  few  paces  distant,  he  heard  a  considerable  clatter  he 
did  not  understand,  turned  his  head  to  see  what  was  doing,  and  was 
much  surprised  to  see  all  the  rails  of  the  fence,  that  had  been  in  perfect 
order  a  few  seconds  before,  formed  and  forming  conical  tents  for  these 
soldiers  ;  it  was  the  most  rapid  and  instantaneous  destruction  of  a  fence 


322  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

ever  seen  before.  The  blowing  up  of  the  Augusta  64,  that  was  en 
gaged  in  the  reduction  of  Mud  Fort,  was  felt  distinctly  in  the  borough  ; 
the  reports  of  the  cannon  were  heard  when  the  wind  was  favorable,  but 
on  that  day  the  wind  was  very  strong  from  the  northwest,  and  nothing 
was  heard  till  the  afternoon  (I  think).  While  I  was  sitting  in  Dr.  Way's 
parlor,  with  himself  and  some  other  person,  we  were  surprised  to  hear 
the  bottles  and  other  glassware  in  his  shop  rattling  together.  We  could 
not  tell  the  cause  until  information  came  of  the  event  and  of  the  time 
that  it  took  place,  and  we  were  satisfied  it  was  the  concussion  of  that 
blow-up  that  shook  the  doctor's  glass  furniture  of  his  medical  shop,  as 
such  places  were  then  styled,  but  since  we  have  grown  more  refined  we 
call  them  offices  of  such-and-such  doctors. 

"I  shall  close  this  paper  by  noting  some  of  the  changes  that  have 
taken  place  with  our  agricultural  neighbors  up  the  Brandywine,  fifteen 
or  twenty  miles,  since  the  year  1165.  At  that  time,  and  for  many  years 
after,  the  country  was  supplied  with  spring  and  fall  goods  by  attend 
ing  fairs,  held  at  this  period  in  all  the  towns  and  villages  ;  these 
fairs  were  well  attended  by  both  sexes,  old  and  young,  some  to  buy  and 
others  for  fun  and  frolic.  My  youthful  disposition  led  me  more  to 
observe  the  dress  and  behavior  of  the  young  men  and  women  than  to  par 
take  of  their  amusements.  The  young  men,  if  the  day  was  fine,  came 
to  the  fair  by  hundreds  (with  a  fine,  buxom  lassie  alongside)  in  their 
shirt-sleeves,  nicely  plaited  and  cramped  as  high  as  the  elbows,  above 
which  it  was  tied  with  a  string  of  different  colored  tape  or  ribbon,  called 
sleeve-strings.  Their  coats  were  tied  behind  the  saddle  ;  they  had  thin- 
soled  shoes  for  dancing;  they  wore  two  pair  of  stockings,  the  inner 
pair  generally  white,  the  outer  pair  generally  blue  yarn,  the  top  rolled 
neatly  below  the  breeches  knee-band,  so  as  to  show  the  inner  white,  and 
guard  it  from  the  dirt  from  the  horses'  feet, — for  boots  were  not  known. 
I  never  recollect  seeing  a  solitary  pair  of  boots  worn,  and  I  have  seen 
some  thousands  of  young  men  going  to,  at,  and  coming  from  these  fairs, 
in  six  or  seven  years.  I  have  sat  in  the  same  place  for  the  last  few 
years,  and  observed  the  same  class  of  persons  pass  me ;  now  boots  are 
generally  worn,  and  umbrellas  carried  by  persons  on  horseback.  At  that 
day  a  man,  booted,  on  horseback,  with  an  umbrella  over  him,  would 
have  produced  more  curiosity  and  conversation  on  his  pride  and  folly 
than  a  small  army  would  at  this  time.  When  we  visited  our  then 
wealthy  relatives  and  farmers  in  the  country,  they  gave  us  of  their  best 
according  to  the  season.  Then  the  fare  was  mush  and  milk,  apple 
and  peach  pie  and  milk,  cheese-curds  and  new  milk,  sometimes  cream, 
with  home-made  wine  and  sugar  (which  is  a  delicacy  even  now),  bread 
and  cheese  and  custards, — no  tea  or  coffee  did  I  see.  I  have  visited 
some  of  the  same  tables  a  few  years  past,  where  I  found  tea,  coffee  or 
chocolate,  with  preserves  of  many  kinds ;  the  dinner-table  groaning 
under  its  weight  of  ham,  poultry,  beef,  mutton,  etc.,  with  a  second 
course  consisting  of  puddings,  pies,  tarts,  custards,  etc.;  milk,  and  other 
dishes  of  old  times,  being  now  too  vulgar,  except  particularly  inquired 
after.  "  SEVENTY-SIX." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  323 


ID. 

THE  following  copy  is  taken  from  the  original  letter  of  a  British  spy, 
in  possession  of  Mr.  Joseph  Henry  Rogers,  who  found  it  among  the 
papers  of  his  grandfather,  James  Booth,  by  whom  it  was  brought  from 
New  York,  with  papers  belonging  to  the  State  of  Delaware,  captured 
by  the  British  and  carried  there,  after  President  McKinley  was  made 
prisoner,  in  1777.  On  the  original  letter  is  written  "  Found  among  my 
papers  brought  from  New  York, — supposed  to  be  written  by  John 
Malcolm." 

"  SIR, — Morton,  at  the  Ferry,  was  yesterday  with  the  rebel  chiefs, 
viz.:  Patterson,  Bryan,  Grantham.  Bedford,  I  hear,  is  at  Philadelphia. 
There  are  under  these,  John  Clark,  late  sheriff,  William  Clark,  his  sub- 
sheriff,  a  Mr.  Booth,  a  Philip  January.  I  apprehend  that  the  chiefs  stay 
at  nights  either  at  Grantham's  or  Captain  Porter's,  a  small  distance 
below  New  Castle.  Morton,  when  he  returned  last  night,  reported 
that  Major  Bryan  had  sworn,  in  his  hearing,  that  he  would  burn  the 
town  of  New  Castle  and  all  the  damned  Tories  in  it.  I  know  of  no  per 
son  to  be  trusted  so  fit  for  a  guide  as  old  Joseph,  and  I  have  persuaded 
him  to  act  as  such.  There  is  a  certain  William  Haslett,  near  to  Dr. 
Finney's  house,  in  New  Castle,  who  promised  me  to  point  out  some 
inveterate  rebels  if  an  officer  would  call  at  his  house ;  he  is  afraid  to 
appear,  as  they  have  threatened  him.  At  Newport  is  the  habitation 
and  the  effects  of  one  of  McKinley 's  privy  council,  a  vile  rebel,  well 
known  by  the  name  George  Latimer, — his  father  a  Judge  of  Common 
Pleas. 

"  Saturday  morning." 


THE  hatred  of  the  ultra  Whigs  in  Delaware,  during  the  Revolutionary 
war,  for  the  Tories,  and  the  violent  and  occasionally  cruel  manifesta 
tions  of  it,  are  strikingly  displayed  by  the  "  History  of  Cheny  Clow," 
which  I  have  abridged  from  the  "Delaware  Register,"*  vol.  i.  pp. 
220-226. 

In  a  letter  of  5th  May,  1770,f  Mr.  Read  mentions  Clow  as  foreman 
of  a  grand  jury  in  Sussex  County,  and  calls  him  the  "  Wilkes  of  Sus 
sex."  He  was  a  leader  of  the  Tories  in  Kent  and  Sussex,  and  especially 

*  A  magazine  published  in  Dover,  Delaware,  in  1838  and  1839,  by  William 
Huffington,  Esquire,  to  preserve  facts  relating  to  the  early  history  of  Delaware, 
advance  agriculture,  and  diffuse  information  and  amusement  by  articles  on  va 
rious  subjects.  It  expired,  on  the  completion  of  its  second  volume,  for  want  of 
sufficient  patronage.  It  is  desirable  that  there  should  be  always  such  a  reposi 
tory,  and  persons  enough  alive  to  the  duty  of  arresting  facts,  historically  valuable, 
passing  to  oblivion,  to  avail  themselves  of  this  means  for  their  preservation. 

f  Life  of  George  Head,  chap.  i. 


324  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  object  of  the  hatred  of  the  "Whigs.  He  was  accused  of  treason  in 
1782,  and  a  warrant  directed  to  John  Clayton,  Sheriff  of  Kent  County, 
issued  for  his  arrest.  Clow  resided  in  the  forest,  about  twelve  miles 
from  Dover ;  Clayton,  with  a  strong  posse,  well  armed,  proceeded  to 
his  house,  the  door  of  which  he  found  closed  and  secured.  The  war 
rant  was  read,  and  Clow  summoned  to  surrender,  and  he  replied  by 
firing-  several  times  upon  the  posse,  but  without  effect;  the  fire  was  re 
turned,  and  the  door  assailed  with  axes  and  the  butts  of  muskets. 
During  the  fight  a  man  of  the  posse,  named  Moore,  was  shot  through 
the  body  and  died  at  once,  and  another  wounded  by  a  ball  which,  strik 
ing  the  brass  plate  on  his  bayonet-belt,  glanced  to  his  neck,  slightly 
injuring  him.  The  door  was  at  last  forced  open,  and  the  sheriff  with 
his  party,  thrusting  aside  or  clambering  over  a  barricade  of  furniture 
and  other  materials,  seized  Clow.  They  were  astonished  to  find  none 
within  the  house  but  Clow. and  his  wife,  who,  it  was  believed,  had  been 
moulding  bullets,  as  there  was  lead  melting  over  a  fire  in  the  house, 
and  from  the  steady  and  quick  fire  maintained  upon  their  assailants,  it 
was  concluded  that  she  loaded  muskets  while  her  husband  discharged 
them,  till  bullets  failed ;  she  was  wounded  severely  in  the  breast,  but 
made  no  complaint.  Clow  requested  leave  to  dress,  which  being 
granted,  he  arrayed  himself  in  the  full  uniform  of  a  British  captain. 
He  was  then  put  on  a  horse,  and  the  sheriff  and  his  party  set  out  for 
Dover  with  their  prisoner.  On  the  way  to  Dover  a  new  peril  threat 
ened  the  unfortunate  Clow,  in  the  shape  of  a  militia  troop  of  horse, 
headed  by  their  captain,  who  demanded  his  surrender  to  them  that 
they  might  hang  him  on  the  next  tree.  The  sheriff  and  his  party,  un- 
intimidated  by  threats  of  violence,  greatly  to  their  honor,  asserted  the 
supremacy  of  the  civil  authority  over  military  power,  and  succeeded  in 
conducting  Clow  uninjured  to  the  prison  in  Dover.  On  the  10th  day 
of  December,  1782,  at  a  Court  of  Over  and  Terminer  called  for  his  trial, 
consisting  of  Judges  Killen  and  Finney,  an  indictment  for  high  treason 
was  found  against  him,  upon  which  he  was  tried,  and  to  which  he 
pleaded  not  guilty,  exhibiting  his  commission  as  captain  in  the  British 
army,  and  claiming  to  be  entitled  to  be  treated  as  a  prisoner  of  war. 
He  was  acquitted,  but,  as  appears  by  the  entry  on  the  record  of  the 
court  that  tried  him,  immediately  after  that  of  his  acquittal,  he  was 
ordered  to  enter  into  a  recognizance  in  the  sum  often  thousand  pounds, 
with  two  sureties,  in  the  sum  of  five  thousand  pounds  each,  for  his  good 
behavior  till  the  end  of  the  war  with  Great  Britain,  pay  the  cost 
of  his  trial  for  treason,  and  be  committed  till  this  judgment  should  be 
complied  with.  Being  poor,  as  were  his  friends,  and  they  but  few, 
compliance  was  impossible,  and  the  judgment  was,  in  effect,  a  sentence 
to  imprisonment  for  an  indefinite  time.  The  implacable  enemies  of  this 
unhappy  man  soon  charged  him  with  the  murder  of  Moore.  He  \vas 
indicted,  and  at  a  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer,  held  by  Judges  Killen 
and  John  Jones,  Gunning  Bedford,  Attorney-General,  prosecuting,  con 
victed  of  the  murder  of  Moore,  on  an  indictment  found  5th  May,  1783  : 
he  was  sentenced  to  be  hanged  by  the  neck  till  dead.  The  justice  of 
the  verdict  in  this  case  may  well  be  questioned.  Sheriff  Clayton  testi 
fied  that  he  believed  Moore  was  shot,  not  from  Clow's  house,  but  by 
one  of  his  posse  who  was  firing  in  the  rear  of  it ;  his  reason  was,  that 
the  hole  in  Moore's  back  (the  bullet  having  passed  through  his  body) 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  325 

was  small  and  smooth,  \vhile  that  in  front  was  much  larger,  ragged,  and 
torn,  so  that  the  ball  must  have  entered  his  back,  and  could  not  have 
been  fired  from  the  house,  his  face  having  been  towards  it  when  he  fell. 
The  sheriff's  evidence  was  corroborated  by  such  of  his  party  as  were 
examined.  The  only  testimony  of  any  weight  against  Clow  was  that  of 
John  Bullen, — that  in  jail  he  said  to  him,  "  If  I  killed  Moore,  it  was  by 
accident."  Clow  defended  himself,  urging  it  was  not  proved  he  killed 
Moore,  and  even  if  he  did,  the  killing  was  accidental  and  without  mal 
ice,  and  even  if  designed  could  not  be  murder,  as  he  was  a  British 
officer,  rightfully  defending  himself  from  capture  by  the  citizens  or 
soldiers  of  a  hostile  people.  A  troop  of  horse  was  paraded  in  front  of 
the  court-house  during  Clow's  trials,  it  was,  at  the  time,  believed  to 
intimidate  the  jury,  while  the  people  without  clamored  for  his  convic 
tion  ;  therefore,  confidence  in  this  verdict,  as  unbiased,  is  reasonably 
shaken,  if  not  destroyed.  The  governor  of  Delaware  was  very  much 
disposed  to  pardon  Clow,  for  it  has  been  stated  he  did  not  believe  him 
guilty;  he  therefore  respited  him  from  time  to  time,  but  was  too  much 
influenced  by  the  popular  cry  for  his  blood  to  do  more.  In  honorable 
contrast  to  the  course  of  the  governor  was  that  of  Sheriff  Clayton,  who, 
being  apprehensive  that  the  infuriated  people  would  attempt  to  take 
Clow  forcibly  from  the  prison  and  hang  him,  slept  for  many  months  in 
his  apartment,  armed,  to  prevent  his  abduction.  A  few  persons  peti 
tioned  for  his  pardon,  but,  as  has  seldom  happened,  petitions  were  signed 
by  many  for  his  execution.  The  Whigs  had  suffered  much  from  the 
protraction  of  the  war,  which  they,  with  reason,  attributed  to  the  Tories, 
by  whom  their  property  had  been  plundered,  and  their  nearest  and 
dearest  relations  and  friends  murdered  or  made  prisoners ;  hence  the  fe 
rocity  with  which  they  pursued  this  hapless  prisoner.  Clow,  in  hourly 
fear  of  death  at, the  hands  of  an  infuriated  mob,  could  endure  no  longer 
his  dreadful  state  of  suspense,  and  therefore  petitioned  the  governor  to 
at  once  either  pardon  him  or  issue  the  warrant  for  his  execution.  Un 
happily  for  the  memory  of  this  chief  magistrate,  the  pleadings  of  mercy 
were  silenced  by  the  popular  clamor  for  the  blood  of  Clow,  and  he  signed 
his  death-warrant.  Clow  heard  it  read  with  calmness,  and  from  that 
time  uttered  no  complaints  or  reproaches ;  he  walked  to  the  gallows 
singing,  with  unfaltering  voice,  a  hymn  he  had  committed  to  memory 
while  imprisoned.  His  wife,  who  so  heroically  aided  in  defending  his 
house,  never  forsook  him, — her  efforts  for  his  pardon  were  unceasing  till 
his  execution,  and  she  continued  in  Dover  till  he  was  cut  down,  when 
she  received  his  body  and  departed  with  it  to  consign  it  to  the  grave, 
but  where  was  never  known.  The  patriotic  Ca3sar  Rodney,  on  the  day 
of  Clow's  execution,  publicly  wished  he  were  governor  only  that  he 
might  pardon  him.  The  revulsion  of  public  feeling  was  immediate; 
even  while  around  the  gallows  of  their  victim,  the  conviction  of  Clow's 
innocence  forced  itself  upon  those  who  had  been  foremost  in  clamoring 
for  his  death.  The  house,  the  scene  of  his  brave  defence,  was  never 
aftenvard  occupied,  and  has  disappeared.  In  Kent  County,  in  Little 
Creek  Hundred,  in  a  dense  and  dark  forest,  far  from  the  abodes  of  men, 
there  is  still  shown  a  heap  of  logs,  all  that  remains  of  Cheney  Clow's 
fort,  where,  with  his  Tory  bands,  he  defied  the  Whigs.  This  execution 
of  Clow  was  a  foul  and  cruel  murder. 


326  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

9 

IF. 
VISIT   TO  YALLEY  FORGE. 

ABOUT  sixteen  miles  up  the  Schuylkill  from  Philadelphia,  a  small 
stream  leaves  the  rich  and  beautiful  valley  and  winds  its  way  through 
a  deep  ravine,  between  two  mountains,  and  empties  its  clear  water  into 
the  river.  The  mountains  are  filled  with  iron  ore ;  and  as  the  stream 
afforded  water-power,  the  old  inhabitants  of  the  colony  erected  at  its 
mouth  a  mill  and  forge,  and  around  them  a  few  houses :  and  the  place 
was  known  as  the  "  Valley  Forge." 

It  was  after  the  disastrous  result  of  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and 
Germantown,  in  which  the  Americans  lost  two  thousand  soldiers,  whom, 
in  their  already  reduced  state,  they  could  so  poorly  spare,  that  Washing 
ton  was  forced  to  give  up  Philadelphia  to  the  enemy,  lead  his  drooping 
and  discouraged  army  to  this  secluded  spot,  which  the  sufferings  of  that 
little  band,  while  it  lay  and  shivered  there  during  the  memorable  winter 
of  '77,  has  made  immortal. 

We  approached  the  old  encampment  by  a  road  leading  down  a 
narrow  defile  which  forms  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  ascended  to  the 
summit,  where  the  army  lay,  by  a  rugged  pathway,  which  is  still  to  be 
traced  among  the  rocks ;  and  were  shown  by  our  guide,  as  we  passed, 
the  different  spots  where  the  cannon  had  been  planted  to  guard  the 
entrance.  When  we  reached  the  summit,  we  found  it  partially  cov 
ered  with  trees  and  underwood :  yet  eighty  years  had  not  been  able  to 
destroy  the  efforts  that  feeble  band  had  put  forth  for  self-protection. 
There  was  still  to  be  seen  a  ditch  and  embankment,  which  at  present  is 
about  three  feet  high,  extending  more  than  two  miles  around  the  top 
of  the  mountain. 

At  the  more  open  and  unprotected  points  are  still  to  be  seen  five  dif 
ferent  forts  of  different  forms,  more  or  less  perfect.  They  were  probably 
built  principally  of  logs,  but  they  have  long  since  decayed,  and  their 
forms  at  present  are  to  be  traced  only  by  piles  of  dirt,  which  had  been 
thrown  up  to  strengthen  them.  The  most  perfect  one  at  present  is  still 
about  ten  feet  high,  and  probably  one  hundred  feet  square,  with  a 
dividing  ridge  running  diagonally  from  one  corner  to  the  other,  forming 
two  apartments  of  equal  size,  with  but  one  narrow  entrance.  It  all 
remains  quite  perfect,  and  the  walls  or  banks  are  covered  with  trees. 
The  tents  of  the  soldiers  were  made  of  poles,  which  seem  to  have  been 
twelve  or  fifteen  feet  long,  built  in  the  form  of  a  pen,  with  dirt  thrown  up 
on  the  outside  to  keep  out  the  storm.  Their  remains  are  still  to  be  seen 
situated  in  little  groups  here  and  there  over  the  inclosure.  While  down 
near  the  old  Forge,  we  were  shown  an  old  stone  house,  about  twenty 
by  thirty  feet,  which  served  as  head-quarters,  in  which  Washington 
lived,  surrounded  by  his  staff,  during  the  winter. 

We  entered  the  venerable  building  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  emo 
tion,  and  examined  the  room  which  served  the  illustrious  chief  as  bed 
chamber  and  audience-chamber.  It  is  very  plain,  and  the  furniture 
much  as  he  had  left  it.  A  small  rough  box,  in  a  deep  window-sill,  was 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  327 

pointed  out  as  having  contained  his  papers  and  writing  materials.  The 
house  is  occupied  by  a  family  who  take  pleasure  in  showing  to  visitors 
the  different  items  of  interest.  The  old  cedar-shingled  roof,  which  pro 
tected  the  "  Father  of  our  Country"  eighty  years  ago,  had  still  shel 
tered  the  old  head-quarters  until  a  year  or  two  ago,  when  it  was  re 
moved,  and  its  place  occupied  by  tin. 

The  graves  of  the  soldiers  are  still  to  be  seen  in  distinct  clusters  over 
the  ground,  but  are  most  numerous  in  the  northwest  division,  where 
the  regiments  from  the  South  were  quartered,  death  having  rioted  most 
fearfully  among  them,  they  being  less  able  to  endure  the  severities  of  a 
Northern  winter. 

It  was  during  their  encampment  here  that  the  tracks  of  the  soldiers 
could  be  traced  by  their  blood,  as  they  gathered  wood  to  warm  their 
miserable  huts.  And  it  is  here  that  Washington  is  said  to  have  shed 
tears  like  a  father  while  beholding  their  sufferings,  when  they  gathered 
around  him  and  pleaded  for  bread  and  clothing,  and  he  had  not  the 
means  to  furnish  them.  Yet,  although  everything  seemed  so  discourag 
ing,  it  was  near  here  that  the  "  Friend"  went  home  surprised,  exclaim 
ing,  "  The  Americans  will  conquer  yet !  the  Americans  will  conquer 
yet !  for  I  heard  a  whisper  in  the  woods,  and  I  looked  and  saw  their 
chief  upon  his  knees,  and  he  was  asking  God  to  help  them." 

It  may  be  great  to  lead  a  powerful  army  on  to  victory,  but  surely  it 
was  greater  to  preserve  the  shattered  remnants  of  a  discouraged  band 
together,  when  the  enemy  were  trampling  over  them,  when  their  Con 
gress  could  do  nothing  for  them,  when  starving  families  at  home  were 
weeping  for  their  return,  and  when  there  seemed  no  prospect  before 
them  but  miserable  defeat. 

Numerous  graves  have  recently  been  opened,  and  the  bodies  of  many 
of  the  officers  have  been  removed  by  their  friends  to  other  burying- 
grounds  in  their  native  States ;  but  the  poor  and  obscure  soldiers,  who 
still  remain,  have  monuments  more  beautiful  than  art  can  form  erected 
over  them,  for  nature  has  planted  hundreds  of  cedars  as  a  silent  tribute 
to  their  memory,  which  have  been  watered  by  the  pure  and  generous 
tears  of  night,  and  they  are  now  forming  living  wreaths  of  evergreen 
above  their  graves. —  Ohio  State  Journal. 


328  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


Or 
COLONEL  HASLET. 

JOHN  HASLET  was  born  in  Ireland.  He  was  educated  for  the  minis 
try  of  the  Dissenters,  and  preached,  but  subsequently  studied  medicine 
with  much  success,  and  practised  it  in  Kent  County,  Delaware,  for  many 
years,  with  profit  and  reputation ;  and  was  frequently  elected  to  the 
General  Assembly  of  this  State,  for  his  able  and  faithful  services  there 
deserving-  and  receiving  the  applause  of  his  fellow-citizens. — Delaware 
Gazette,  No.  216,  August  8th,  1789. 

He  was  a  man  of  generous  and  ardent  feelings — tall  and  athletic.  A 
leading  Whig,  he  was  appointed  colonel  of  the  justly  celebrated  Dela 
ware  regiment.  He  took  an  active  part  in  raising  it,  and  when  assem 
bled  on  the  day  appointed  for  its  march,  eight  hundred  strong,  was  ad 
dressed  by  him  with  stirring  eloquence.  Though  imperfectly  clothed, 
armed,  and  provisioned,  these  gallant  men,  with  loud  cheers,  commenced 
their  march  from  their  homes,  which,  save  a  handful,  they  were  to  see 
nevermore.  He  was  regarded  as  the  father  of  his  regiment,  which  he 
commanded  till  his  glorious  death,  and  led  in  the  battles  of  White 
Plains,  Trenton,  and  Princeton,  where,  in  a  gallant  charge  against  the 
British,  he  fell  by  a  wound  in  his  head  from  a  rifle-bullet,  about  sun 
rise,  January  3d,  1777. 

The  State  of  Delaware  has  not  been  insensible  to  the  services  and 
merits  of  Colonel  Haslet.  In  1783  the  Legislature  of  Delaware  caused 
a  marble  slab  to  be  placed  over  his  grave,  in  the  burying-ground  of  the 
First  Presbyterian  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  where  his  remains  were 
deposited,  in  1777,  and  where  they  reposed  undisturbed  until  1841,  when 
this  grave-yard  was  sold  and  its  tenants  removed.  The  Legislature  of 
Delaware  appointed  a  committee,  22d  February,  1841,  to  superintend 
the  removal  of  Colonel  Haslet's  body  to  a  vault,  to  be  built  by  the  com 
mittee,  in  the  cemetery  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  Dover,  Delaware, 
and  authorized  them  to  have  a  suitable  monument,  with  appropriate 
inscriptions  and  devices,  prepared  and  placed  over  this,  it  may  be  ex 
pected,  his  final  resting-place.  On  the  1st  of  July,  1841,  this  committee* 
placed  the  disinterred  remains  of  Colonel  Haslet  in  the  First  Presby 
terian  Church,  on  Washington  Square,  Philadelphia.  On  the  next  day, 
at  an  early  hour,  the  remains  were  conveyed  to  the  steamer  Kent,  in 
charge  of  the  committee,  escorted  by  volunteer  companies  of  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  and  the  Hibernia  Society,  with  a  great  body  of  citizens, 
several  judges  and  other  civil  functionaries,  and  officers  of  the  United 
States  army  and  navy.  There  was  solemn  music,  tolling  of  bells,  firing 
of  guns,  and  addresses  from  the  president  of  the  Hibernia  Society  and 
the  chairman  of  the  committee.  The  remains  (the  skeleton  entire,  or 
almost  so)f  arrived  in  Dover,  Saturday  night,  July  2d,  escorted  by  a 

*One  of  this  committee  said  to  me,  "When  we  arrived  at  Colonel  Haslet's 
graye  we  found  his  remains  disinterred,  and  with  them  bones  from  an  adjoining 
grave  or  graves, — and  we  took  all." 

f  So  says  a  friend,  who  saw  it. 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  329 

great  cavalcade  of  citizens  of  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland, 
and  were  deposited,  under  a  guard  of  honor,  in  the  State-House.  On 
the  succeeding  morning  of  July  3d,  after  impressive  religious  services 
and  an  eloquent  address  from  John  M.  Clayton,  followed  by  a  great 
assemblage  of  citizens,  they  were  conveyed  to  the  vault  prepared  for 
them.  The  monument  over  this  vault  is  of  marble,  seven  feet  high,  and 
its  base  of  Brandy  wine  granite.  The  slab  placed  over  Haslet's  grave 
in  Philadelphia,  in  1783,  is  preserved  by  having  been  made  one  of  the 
sides  of  this  tomb,  and  bears  this  inscription: 

In  Memory 

of 
JOHN  HASLET,  ESQUIRE, 

Colonel  of  the  Delaware  Regiment, 

IVJio  fell  gloriously  at  the  battle  of  Princeton, 

In  the  cause  of  American  Independence, 

January  3c?,  1777. 
The  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Delaware, 

Remembering 
His  virtues  as  a  man, 
His  merits  as  a  citizen, 

and 

His  services  as  a  soldier, 

Havetcaused  this  monumental  stone, 

In  testimony  of  their  respect, 

To  be  placed  over  his  grave. 

MDCCLXXX1IL* 

His  son,  distinguished  as  no  other  citizen  of  Delaware  has  ever  been, 
by  his  election  twice  to  the  office  of  her  governor,  owed  this  honor 
mainly,  I  believe,  to  the  public  gratitude  for  Colonel  Haslet's  services, 
invested  with  lustre,  which  lapse  of  time  has  not  dimmed,  and  with 
mournful  interest  by  his  death  on  the  battle-field  of  Princeton,  as  victory 
was  about  to  perch  upon  our  banner. 

A  friend  (who  does  not  permit  me  to  mention  his  name)  informs  me 
(August  26th,  1858)  "that  he  had  often  seen  the  Bible  (quarto)  from 
which  Colonel  Haslet,  according  to  tradition  in  his  family,  preached,  at 
the  house  of  his  son  Governor  Haslet;"  and  about  twenty-one  years  ago, 
travelling  in  a  stage  from  Milford  to  New  Castle,  he  met  a  gentleman 
whose  name  he  could  not  recall,  resident  in  Illinois,  and  husband  of 
Jemima,  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Haslet,  who  had  in  his  hands  Governor 
Haslet's  certificate  of  membership  of  the  Society  of  the  Cincinnati, 
which  my  informant,  having  often  seen  before,  recognized,  and  on  his 
lap  the  Bible  above  mentioned,  with  a  bundle,  he  said,  of  Colonel 
Haslet's  sermons.  He  was  returning  from  "Cedar  Creek,"  Sussex 
County,  Delaware,  where  Governor  Haslet  resided,  having  gone  there 
to  collect  relics  of  Colonel  Haslet.  These  relics  had  been  bought  by  a 
man  named  Shockley,  a  friend  and  neighbor  of  Governor  Haslet,  at  the 

*  Journal  of  the  Senate  of  Delaware,  A.D.  1843,  pp.  153-160;  Delaware  Journal, 
July  6th  and  9th,  A.D.  1841. 

22 


330 


LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


sale  of  his  effects,  to  preserve  them  for  his  family,  none  of  whom  were 
present  at  it. 

There  was  during  the  American  Revolution  a  classical  school,  kept  by 
the  Reverend  Mr  or  Dr.  Huston,  in  Kent  or  Sussex  County,  Delaware. 
The  boys  of  this  seminary  were  one  day  engaged  in  their  plays  on  the 
lawn  in  front  of  his  house,  when  a  man  hastily  rode  up  and  announced 
"that  the  British  had  been  defeated  at  Trenton  and  Princeton,"  and 
added  that  General  Mercer  and  Colonel  Haslet  were  killed.  One  of 
these  boys  was  Governor  Haslet !  He  was  stunned  by  this  intelligence  ; 
his  companions  cheered. 

Colonel  Haslet  at  the  time  of  his  death  had  in  his  pocket  an  order  to 
return  to  Delaware,  to  recruit  for  his  regiment.  When  he  received  it, 
expecting  that  a  battle  was  nigh,  he  asked  and  obtained  leave  to  defer 
his  departure  from  the  army. 

The  half-sister  of  my  informant  was  the  wife  of  Governor  Haslet, 
with  whom  and  his  family  he  enjoyed  intimate,  affectionate,  and  long 
intercourse.  "The  Governor,"  he  said,  "was  a  well-looking  man,  of 
pleasing  manners,  generous,  hospitable,  and  popular.  His  abilities 
were  good,  his  education  classical,  and  his  occupation  that  of  miller  and 
farmer." 

OFFICERS    OF    THE   DELAWARE   REGIMENT. 


Aixlerson,  Thomas.. 

Bennett,  Caleb  P 

Cox,  Daniel  Powell. 

Campbell,  James 

Cutting,  John  B. 


..Lieutenant. 

do. 

.Captain. 
.Lieutenant. 
Apothecary. 


Driskell,  Joseph Lieutenant. 

Gilder,  Reuben Surgeon. 

Hall,  David Colonel. 

Hosman,  Joseph Lieutenant. 

Hyatt,  John  Vance do. 

Jacquett,  Peier Captain. 

Kirkwood,  Robert do. 

Kidd,  Charles Lieutenant. 

Learmouth,  John Captain. 

Latimer,  Henry Surgeon. 


Mitchell,  Nathaniel Major. 

McLane,  Allen Captain. 

McKennan,  William do. 

Moore,  James do. 

Me  William,  Stephen Lieutenant. 

Patten,  John Major. 

Pur vi s ,  George Captain. 

Popham,  William do. 

Pla^t,  John Lieutenant. 

Roche,  Edward do. 

Skillington,  Elijah do. 

Tilton,  James Hos.  Surg'n. 

Vaughn,  Joseph Lieutenant. 

Wilson,  John Captain. 

Vaughn,  Joseph Lieut. -Col. 


G-2. 

EXTRACT  FROM  THE  LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT  OF 
CAESAR  RODNEY. 

THE  last  will  of  Caesar  Rodney  is  in  the  office  of  the  Register  of  Wills, 
Kent  County,  Delaware.  It  commences  thus: 

"Caesar  Rodney,  of  the  County  of  Kent,  in  the  Delaware  State, 
Esquire,  Delegate  in  the  Congress  held  in  New  York  to  solicit  the  re 
peal  of  the  memorable  Stamp-Act ;  Last  Speaker  of  the  General  As 
sembly  held  under  the  old  Government ;  Delegate  in  the  Revolutionary 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  331 

< 

Congress  held  at  Philadelphia ;  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ 
ence  ;  late  President  and  Governor  of  the  Delaware  State  aforesaid, 
and  eldest  son  of  Caesar  Rodney,  deceased,  who  was  youngest  son  of 
William  Rodney,  deceased,  who  came  from  the  City  of  Bristol,  in  Great 
Britain,  and  was  first  of  our  name  in  these  parts ;  and  Speaker  of  the 
first  General  Assembly  of  Delaware,  held  under  the  old  Government, 
after  its  separation  from  Pennsylvania,  do  make  this,  my  Last  Will  and 
Testament,  for  the  disposal  of  all  my  real  and  personal  estate  in  manner 
and  form  following,  that  is  to  say." 

Among  other  bequests  are  the  following: 

1st,  to  Caesar  Augustus  Rodney,  his  gold  watch  ;  2d,  to  the  Wardens 
of  Christ  Church,  Dover,  Delaware,  one  hundred  pounds  to  inclose  with 
a  brick  wall  the  burying-ground  of  Christ  Church  therein  ;  3d,  of  a  tract 
of  land  in  Jones's  Neck,  Kent  County,  Delaware,  commonly  called  "  By- 
field,"  to  his  nephew,  Caesar  Augustus  Rodney,  for  his  natural  life, 
without  impeachment  of  waste,  and  after  his  death  to  his  first  son,  and 
the  heirs  male  of  the  body  of  such  son  ;  and  he  failing,  to  the  third, 
fourth,  fifth  son,  and  all  and  every  his  sons,  lawfully  begotten,  succes 
sively  in  remainder. 

He  directs  his  brother  Thomas  "  To  have  his  son,  Caesar  A.  Rodney, 
brought  up  in  the  form  of  religion  commonly  called  the  Church  of 
England,  and  educated  liberally  in  classical  learning,  Natural  and  Moral 
Philosophy,  and  every  other  branch  of  literature  that  has  a  tendency 
to  improve  the  understanding  and  polish  the  manners,  as  may  reason 
ably  be  in  America." 

Should  Thomas  die  in  the  minority  of  Caesar  A.  Rodney,  this  direction 
is  to  be  performed  by  his  brother,  William  Rodney,  and  if  he  also 
should  so  die,  the  testator  earnestly  requests  his  respectable  friend, 
George  Read,  of  New  Castle,  to  see  that  this  part  of  his  will  be  judi 
ciously  executed. 

He  nominates  Thomas  Rodney  his  executor. 

His  will  was  executed  20th  January,  1784,  in  presence  of  Charles 
Ridgely,  William  Wolleston,  and  Edward  Tilghman. 

A  codicil  devising  fifty  acres  of  after-purchased  land  was  executed  21th 
March,  1784. 

This  will  and  codicil  were  proved  before  Thomas  Collins,  Esq.,  3d 
July,  1784,  by  virtue  of  a  commission  from  Governor  Van  Dyke,  to  him 
directed,  to  take  proof  of  said  will  and  codicil ;  and  they  were  proved 
in  this  unusual  manner  because,  I  conjecture,  Thomas  Rodney  was  the 
Register  of  Wills  and  Judge  of  Probate  in  and  for  Kent  County,  Dela 
ware. 

"  DOVER,  July  4th,  1778. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Mr.  Read,  one  of  the  counsel  for  the  State  in  the  claim 
against  the  schooner  '  Fortune,'  says  it  will  be  absolutely  necessary 
you  should  attend  the  Court  of  Admiralty,  in  order  to  declare  your 
knowledge  concerning  said  vessel,  cargo,  etc.,  and  that  a  summons  has 
issued  for  that  purpose.  This  being  the  case,  I  make  no  doubt  you 
will  cheerfully  attend,  if  able,  though  the  ride  may  be  ever  so  disagree 
able.  I  am  extremely  sorry  to  put  you  to  this  trouble,  as  I  well  know 
you  are  generally  in  a  bad  state  of  health;  but  as  your  not  coming  will 
occasion  a  delay  in  the  determination,  to  the  great  disadvantage  of  those 


332  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

to  whom  the  prize  may  be  hereafter  adjudged,  I  hope  I  shall  stand  ex 
cused  in  earnestly  requesting  your  attendance. 

"I  am,  sir,  with  my  compliments  to  Mrs.  Dagworthy,  your  most 
obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  CAESAR  RODNEY. 

"  GENERAL  DAGWORTHY. 

"P.S. — I  have  inclosed  you  an  evening  paper  in  which  is  a  letter 
from  General  Washington,  giving  an  account  of  a  general  engagement.* 
You  see  we  have  gained  the  field;  I  had  it  also  by  express.  It  seems 
we  have  killed  and  taken  more  than  three  hundred  of  the  enemy ;  our 
loss  is  considerable.  Besides  this,  the  last  accounts  are  about  three 
thousand  of  the  enemy  have  deserted." 

The  foregoing  letter  was  kindly  communicated  to  the  author  by  the 
Honorable  George  B.  Rodney,  who  (July,  1859)  copied  it  from  the 
original  in  the  possession  of  Mrs.  Waples,  a  granddaughter  of  General 
Dagworthy,  of  Georgetown,  Sussex  County,  Delaware. 

John  Adams  thus  graphically  describes  the  exterior  of  Csesar  Rodney : 
"  Csesar  Rodney  is  the  oddest-looking  man  in  the  world ;  he  is  tall, 
thin,  and  slender  as  a  reed,  [and]  pale ;  his  face  is  not  bigger  than  a 
large  apple,  yet  there  is  sense,  and  fire,  spirit,  wit,  and  humor  in  his 
countenance.  He  made  himself  very  merry  with  Ruggles  and  his  pre 
tended  timidities  and  scruples  at  the  [Stamp-]act  Congress. "f 


HI. 
NOTICE  OF  THOMAS  McKEAN. 

THE  parents  of  this  eminent  statesman  and  jurist,  William  McKean 
and  Letitia  Finney,  were  Irish,  and  resided  in  Chester  County,  Penn 
sylvania,  where  he  was  born  March  19th,  1734.  He  was  educated  by 
Dr.  Allison,  as  were  other  of  his  distinguished  contemporaries.  After 
he  had  been  competently  instructed  in  the  Latin  and  Greek  languages, 
practical  mathematics,  moral  philosophy,  logic  and  rhetoric,  he  studied 
law  with  his  kinsman,  David  Finney,  at  New  Castle,  Delaware,  and 
learned  its  practice  and  theory  together  by  his  employment  as  clerk  to 
the  Prothonotary  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  having  his  office  there. 
At  the  end  of  two  years  after  his  removal  to  New  Castle,  the  diligence, 
ability,  and  probity  he  displayed  were  rewarded  by  his  appointment  to 
be  deputy-prothonotary  and  register  for  the  probate  of  wills.  During 
the  period  of  two  years  he  held  these  offices,  as  his  principal  dwelt  in 
Sussex  County,  nearly  one  hundred  miles  from  New  Castle,  he  executed 
them, — a  youth  not  aged  twenty  years.  Before  he  was  of  age  he  was 
admitted  to  all  the  courts  of  the  three  lower  counties  on  Delaware,  and 
his  practice  in  a  few  months  was  considerable.  In  1756  he  was  ad- 

*  Battle  of  Monmouth,  June  28th,  1778. 

f  Writings  of  John  Adams  (Diary),  vol.  ii.  p.  360. 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  333 

milled  to  practice  in  Chester  County  and  Philadelphia,  and  in  1757  in  the 
Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania.  If  his  rapid  advance  in  professional 
knowledge  and  practice  awakened  envy  in  unworthy  contemporaries,  it 
stimulated  his  ardor  and  his  diligence.  Appointed  in  1758  clerk  to  the 
House  of  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  he  was  re-elected  till  he  declined  this 
office.  In  1762,  in  conjunction  with  Caesar  Rodney,  by  legislative  appoint 
ment,  he  revised  and  printed  the  laws  enacted  during  the  next  preceding 
ten  years,  in  a  manner  satisfactory  to  the  public  ;*  and  in  this  year  made 
his  debut  in  political  life,  having  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Assem 
bly  of  Delaware  for  New  Castle  County,  f  The  parties  of  this  period 
were  called  the  Court  and  Country,  and  their  names  show  their  charac 
ters.  He  belonged  to  the  Country  party,  and  was  soon  one  of  its  lead 
ers.  He  was  appointed  a  trustee  of  the  Loan  Office  for  New  Castle 
County, — in  1764  for  four  years,  and  again  in  1768  and  1772.  In  1765 
he  entered  on  the  wider  field  on  which  he  was  to  play  so  prominent  a 
part,  being  elected  one  of  the  delegates  from  the  "three  lower  counties 
on  Delaware"  to  the  Stamp-act  Congress.  He  took  a  leading  part  in 
the  memorable  proceedings  of  that  illustrious  body,  having  been  one  of 
the  committees  appointed  to  examine  and  revise  its  minutes  for  publica 
tion,  and  to  prepare  an  "Address"  to  the  House  of  Commons  of  Eng 
land.  Besides  a  declaration  of  rights  and  grievances  and  address  to  the 
king,  the  Stamp-act  Congress  prepared  petitions  to  both  houses  of  Parlia 
ment,  but  several  of  its  timid  members,  among  them  its  president,  re 
fused  to  sign  them.  With  these  recusants  McKean  expostulated  with 
his  characteristic  ability  and  warmth,  but  in  vain  One  of  them,  Robert 
Ogden,  of  New  Jersey,  was  burnt  in  effigy,  while  McKean  and  his  col 
league,  Ca3sar  Rodney,  were  thanked  for  their  faithful  and  able  discharge 
of  their  duties  by  the  Assembly  of  Delaware,  upon  reporting  the  pro 
ceedings  of  the  Stamp-act  Congress  to  that  body.  He  was  appointed  in 
1765  sole  notary-public  for  New  Castle  County,  and  a  justice  of  the 
peace  and  clerk  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  and  Quarter  Sessions 
and  Orphans'  Court.  He  concurred  with  his  brethren  of  those  courts 
in  the  order  to  their  officers  to  use  in  their  proceedings  unstamped  paper, 
being  the  first  of  the  courts  in  the  colonies  to  do  so.  He  was  licensed 
to  practice,  in  1766,  in  all  the  New  Jersey  courts.  In  1769  he  was 
appointed  to  procure  in  New  York  copies  of  all  papers  concerning  real 
property  in  Delaware,  and  these  copies  were  declared  of  authority  equal 
to  their  originals.  In  1771  he  was  appointed  Collector  of  New  Castle 
and  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  J 

The  stamp-act  was  repealed,  but  the  right  at  the  same  time  asserted 
that  Parliament  could  in  all  cases  pass  laws  binding  the  colonies.  It 
was  soon  followed  by  the  act  imposing  duties  upon  tea,  paper,  glass, 
etc. ;  and  the  evident  intent  to  test  the  right  thus  claimed  to  tax  the 
colonists  without  their  consent  arrayed  them  in  opposition  to  this  tyran 
nous  attempt.  Mr.  McKean  was  chosen  a  member  of  the  Congress 
which  met  at  Philadelphia,  September  5th,  1774,  having  taken  a  decided 
and  active  part  in  the  measures  preliminary  to  the  election  of  that  body. 

*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  1-3. 
f  "And  re-elected  for  seventeen  years,  till  he  declined  serving  longer." — Biog 
raphy,  vol.  iv.  p.  3. 

J  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  3-10. 


334  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

As  was  true  of  no  other  who  belonged  to  the  Continental  Congress,  he 
was  a  member  of  that  august  assembly,  without  intermission,  until  the 
preliminary  treaty  was  signed  acknowledging  the  independence  of  the 
United  States.  He  removed  to  Philadelphia  in  1774,  and  resided  there 
till  his  death.  Versed  not  only  in  the  theory  of  politics,  but  in  the  de 
tails  of  public  business,  his  services  in  Congress  were  most  valuable, 
for  he  was  ready  and  able  in  debate,  and  diligent  in  the  business  of 
committees,  on  many  of  the  most  important  of  which  he  served,  par 
ticularly  that  committee  appointed  to  report  articles  of  confederation 
between  the  colonies,  which  he  ratified  on  behalf  of  the  State  of  Dela 
ware,  February  22d,  1779.  When  the  vote  of  Congress  in  committee 
of  the  whole  was  taken  on  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  Mr.  McKean 
voted  for  and  Mr.  Read  against  it ;  not  that  the  latter  was  opposed  to 
this  great  measure,  but  thought  it  premature,  the  people,  and  especially 
many  of  his  own  constituents,  not  being  ripe  for  it.  Mr.  McKean,  by 
despatching  an  express  at  his  own  expense  to  Caesar  Rodney,  secured 
his  attendance  on  the  4th  of  July,  1776,  when  the  Declaration  was  re 
ported  from  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  so  decided  the  vote  of 
Delaware  in  favor  of  it.  The  omission  of  his  name  in  the  printed  jour 
nals  of  Congress  from  among  the  signers  to  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence,  though  there  is  no  evidence  extant  that  it  was  by  designed 
injustice  to  him,  but  accidental,  he  with  characteristic  warmth  took 
much  to  heart,  as  defrauding  him  of  a  well-deserved  honor.  He  signed 
the  Declaration,  as  did  Mr.  Read,  who  gave  it  as  sincere  and  earnest 
support  as  his  colleagues.  He  had  previously  been  a  member  of  a  con 
vention  of  Pennsylvania  which  (June,  1776)  declared  willingness  to 
concur  with  Congress  in  declaring  independence,  and  with  Dr.  Franklin 
made  known  to  Congress  their  resolution  to  this  effect.  He  was  chosen, 
July  5th,  1776,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  Safety  of  Pennsylvania. 
At  this  time  he  was  also  colonel  of  a  regiment  of  militia  (called  Associ- 
ators)  of  Philadelphia,  at  the  head  of  which  he  marched  into  New 
Jersey,  to  join  the  "flying  camp"  often  thousand  men  in  New  Jersey. 
During  his  service,  though  not  in  battle, — for  none  occurred, — he  was 
exposed  to  peril,  particularly  in  an  ajFair  at  Perth  Amboy,  July  25th, 
1770,  in  which  he  showed  commendable  courage.  He  served  a  short 
time  with  the  "  flying  camp,"  and  returned  to  his  more  appropriate 
place  in  Congress.  In  the  autumn  of  1776  he  was  a  member  of  the 
convention  that  framed  the  first  constitution  of  Delaware,  and  of  the 
committee  which  reported  the  draft  of  it, — adopted  with  some  amend 
ments.  In  1777  Mr.  McKean  was  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsyl 
vania  ;  and  upon  the  capture  of  President  McKinley,  after  the  battle  of 
Brandywine,  being  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Delegates  of  Delaware,  he 
assumed  the  vice-presidency  of  that  State,  while  Mr.  Read  (the  vice- 
president)  was  journe}7ing  thither,  circuitously,  from  Philadelphia,  the 
direct  road  from  thence  being  occupied  by  the  British.  Mr.  McKean 
had  his  full  share  of  the  anxieties,  troubles,  and  sacrifices  of  the  public 
men  of  his  day.  "I  was  hunted,"  wrote  he  to  John  Adams,  "like  a 
fox,  and  envied  by  those  who  ought  to  have  been  my  friends.  Five 
times  in  a  few  months  I  was  compelled  to  remove  my  family,  and  at 
last  fixed  them  in  a  little  log-house  on  the  Susquehanna;  but  safety  was 
not  to  be  found  there,  and  incursions  of  the  Indians  soon  obliged  them 
again  to  remove."  He  was  commissioned  (July  28th,  1777)  Chief 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  335 

Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  being  at  the  same  time  member  of  the  House 
of  Assembly  of  Delaware  and  its  Speaker,  and  one  of  its  delegates  in 
the  Continental  Congress.  In  a  letter  to  the  Legislature  of  Delaware, 
December  25th,  1780,  he  complained  of  the  impairment  of  his  health 
and  fortune  by  his  necessarily  great  and  unremitted  attention  to  public 
affairs,  and  begged  they  would  appoint  as  his  colleagues  in  Congress 
men  who  would  attend  there  during  his  absence  on  his  circuits,  and 
relieve  him  occasionally  at  other  times.  A  resignation  of  some  one  or 
more  of  offices  manifestly,  in  some  degree  at  least,  incompatible,  was  his 
obvious  remedy ;  but  if  he  saw  no  impropriety  in  his  tenure  of  such 
offices,  neither  did  most  of  the  distinguished  of  his  contemporaries,  nor 
the  people  generally,  then,  nor  till  long  after.  While  delegate  in  Con 
gress,  he  did  not  in  any  year  of  his  service  receive  the  amount  of  his 
expenses,  and  in  some  years  nothing;  love  of  lucre  was  not  therefore 
his  motive  for  retaining  his  membership  of  Congress.* 

He  was  elevated  (July  10th,  1781)  to  the  presidency  of  Congress, 
and  held  that  station  till  his  resignation  of  it,  which  took  effect  in  No 
vember  of  that  year,  with  the  thanks  of  that  body  for  his  able  and  faith 
ful  discharge  of  his  duties. 

No  man  of  marked  character,  ability,  and  zeal,  as  was  Mr.  McKean, 
could  embark  in  public  affairs,  fill  high  offices,  and  discharge  their  duties, 
without  taking  the  wind  out  of  the  sails  of  competitors,  crossing  their 
paths,  and  jostling  them  aside, — deciding  claims  to  the  dissatisfaction 
generally  of  one  of  the  contestants  and  exposing  delinquents.  Such 
men  were  his  enemies,  with  others,  deceived  by  misrepresentations,  or 
mislead  by  party  violence.  His  acceptance*of  the  office  of  President  of 
Congress,  while  Chief  Justice  of  Pennsylvania,  afforded  plausible  ground 
to  assail  him,  which  was  seized  eagerly.  He  was  attacked  and  defended 
in  the  newspapers.  It  was  truly  alleged  that  the  constitutional  pro 
vision  of  Pennsylvania,  inhibiting  the  holding  of  these  offices  by  one 
person  at  the  same  time,  was  of  no  force  in  Delaware, — the  delegate  of 
which  State  he  was;  and  many  precedents  of  members  of  Congress  who 
had  been  and  were  then  judges  were  triumphantly  cited.  He  was  cer 
tainly  justified  by  the  opinion  and  practice  then  almost  universal.  These 
offices,  however,  were  clearly  incompatible.  The  holding  of  incom 
patible  office  is  now,  I  believe,  prohibited  by  the  constitutions  of  all  the 
States,  and,  in  the  absence  of  constitutional  prohibition,  the  latitude  our 
forefathers  indulged  in  this  matter  would  not  be  tolerated. t 

He  was  well  qualified  for  the  office  of  chief  justice  by  his  power  to 
reason,  discriminate,  and  combine,  his  great  learning  and  ready  use  of 
it,  his  courage,  firmness,  and  inflexibility — but  little  accessible  to  plead 
ings  for  mercy ;  and  so  much  the  slave  of  party  (as  appears  by  the 
authority  cited  in  the  sequel  of  this  sketch)  as  to  lend  more  than  once 
his  juridical  power  to  punish  its  enemies,  and,  still  worse,  his  own.  He 
would,  I  believe,  in  the  darkest  periods  of  our  Revolution  have  fearlessly 
charged  a  jury  against  a  prisoner  indicted  for  treason,  defying  the  power 
of  the  British  monarch,  and  was  never  frightened  from  his  duty  by 
popular  clamor.  These  positions  are  sustained  by  his  charge  in  Car 
lisle's  and  Roberta's  cases  (Biography  of  the  Signers,  vol.  iv.  p.  25),  and 

*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  10-22. 
f  Ibid.,  vol.  iv.  p.  22-29. 


336  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

by  the  Habeas  Corpus  case  (ibid.,  vol.  iv.  pp.  26,  27)  and  Chapman's 
case  (1st  Dallas,  p.  ).  And  he  did  not  shrink  from  asserting  the 
supremacy  of  the  civil  over  the  military  power  (Hooper's  case,  ibid., 
vol.  iv.  pp.  28,  29).  The  necessity  for  hanging  Carlisle  and  Roberts 
is,  I  think,  doubtful.  It  is  true  the  issue  of  our  contest  with  Britain 
was  still  uncertain.  Philadelphia,  where  their  treason  had  been  com 
mitted,  while  occupied  by  General  Howe,  was  recently  recovered,  and 
communications  from  spies  there  would  be  invited  and  rewarded,  and 
they  were  especially  dangerous  in  a  city  the  seat  of  the  national  govern 
ment  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  was  true  that  the  Americans  were  in 
peaceable  possession  of  the  town,  and  the  disaffected  had  either  fled 
with  the  British  when  they  evacuated  it,  or  were  scared  into  submission 
and  silence,  and  therefore  there  was  little  probability  that  they  would 
venture  to  plot  treason  or  give  information  to  the  enemy.  With  plausi 
bility,  then,  at  least,  it  may  be  urged  that  the  poor  carpenter,  Carlisle, 
and  the  equally  obscure  Roberts,  might  have  been  treated  with  clem 
ency  by  the  Chief  Justice  and  President  of  Pennsylvania,  without  im 
periling  the  public.  A  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania 
said,  "Chief  Justice  McKean  was  a  great  man,  and  his  merit  as  a 
lawyer  and  judge  has  not  been  sufficiently  appreciated.  His  legal  learn 
ing  was  profound  and  accurate,  the  lucidity  of  his  explications  and  per 
spicuity  of  his  language  were  perfect,  and  his  dignified  manner  in 
charging  a  jury  or  delivering  an  opinion  on  a  law  argument  unequalled. 
His  comprehension  of  mind  in  taking  notes  embracing  substance,  with 
out  omitting  anything  material,  was  inimitable."* 

Oswald,  editor  of  the  "Independent  Gazetteer,"  having  a  case  depend 
ing  in  Pennsylvania  wherein  he  was  defendant,  printed  in  this  paper  an 
address  to  the  people,  appearing  to  be  intended  to  defeat  the  just  de 
cision  of  this  suit,  by  exciting  public  prejudice  against  the  party  who 
had  instituted  and  the  court  that  must  try  it.  McKean  fired  up  at  this 
assault,  and  fined  and  imprisoned  Oswald  to  the  amount  of  ten  pounds 
and  for  the  period  of  one  month,  from  the  15th  day  of  July  to  the  15th 
day  of  August, — these  explanatory  words  having  not  been  entered  in  the 
record  of  the  case.  At  the  end  of  the  legal  month  (twenty-eight  days) 
Oswald  claimed  his  discharge,  which  the  sheriff,  having  heard  the  sen 
tence  as  pronounced,  denied,  as  did  McKean  when  the  matter  was  first 
brought  before  him,  but,  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  record,  granted.  Oswald 
(September  5th,  1785)  alleged,  by  petition  to  the  House  of  Assembly 
of  Pennsylvania,  that  his  imprisonment  had  been  unlawfully  extended, 
and  that  he  had  been  illegally  sentenced,  and  prayed  for  the  impeach 
ment  of  McKean  and  his  colleagues.  Earnest  and  protracted  debates 
ensued,  Fitzsimmons,  Clymer,  and  the  eminent  lawyer  Lewis  defending 
the  assailed  judges,  and  Findley,  with  others,  vehemently  maintaining 
that  their  sentence  of  Oswald  for  a  constructive  and  implied  contempt, 
not  committed  in  the  presence  of  the  court,  or  against  its  officers  or 
order,  but  for  writing  and  publishing  an  improper  and  indecent  article 
concerning  them  and  a  case  in  their  court,  was  a  violation  of  the  consti-^ 
tution  and  a  dangerous  precedent.  The  result  was  a  resolution  that, 
after  full  investigation  of  the  charges  and  evidence  brought  to  sustain 
them,  there  was  no  just  ground  to  impeach  the  accused  judges.  A 

*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  29,  30. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  337 

resolution  also  was  defeated  asking  the  next  Legislature  to  define  con 
tempts  and  prescribe  their  punishment,  on  the  ground  that  this  legis 
lation  would  be  nugatory,  because  the  Supreme  Court  derived  its  power 
to  declare  what  was  contempt  and  to  punish  it  from  an  authority  para 
mount  to  the  Legislature — the  Constitution.  Thus  was  sanctioned  the 
sound  doctrine  that  courts  can  punish  for  contempt, — "  essential,  truly," 
said  McKean,  "  to  the  very  existence  of  courts,  and  without  which  they 
would  be  contemptible,  and  so  ancient  that  there  is  no  period  when  it 
was  not  held."* 

McKean  was  elected  to  the  convention  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania 
which  met  November  20th,  1787,  to  consider  the  constitution  proposed 
for  the  United  States,  and  took  a  prominent  part  in  advocating  the  rati 
fication  it  received  by  this  body,  emphatically  declaring  it  "the  best  the 
world  has  yet  seen."  He  had  carefully  noted  the  proceedings  of  the 
illustyous  assembly  who  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  was  ever  hopeful  that  success  would  crown  their  labors  ;  and,  though 
then  a  citizen  of  Pennsylvania,  advocated  the  equal  vote  claimed  by  the 
smaller  States  to  protect  them  from  their  powerful  sisters,  as  he  had 
done,  with  much  ability,  in  the  congresses  of  17C5  and  1774. f 

The  framers  of  the  Constitution  of  Pennsylvania,  adopted  in  1776,  if 
judged  by  their  work,  were  mere  tyros  in  politics.  It  provided  a  single 
legislature,  a  plural  executive,  a  judiciary  with  a  seven  years'  tenure  of 
office,  and  the  puerile  device  of  a  council  of  censors,  to  take  cognizance 
of  breaches  of  the  Constitution  by  the  Legislature,  and  with  no  more 
power  than  to  recommend  the  repeal  of  unconstitutional  laws.  Reflect 
ing  men  could  not  be  blind  to  such  blemishes  as  these,  nor  insensible  to 
the  duty  of  removing  them.  Unhappily  party  spirit,  which  had  been 
in  Pennsylvania,  from  the  earliest  period  of  her  history,  more  violent 
than  elsewhere  in  the  North  American  colonies, J  was  unabated,  and 
was  soon  manifested  with  increased  virulence  in  the  party  who  defended 
the  Constitution  and  called  themselves  Constitutionalists,  and  their 
opponents,  who  assumed  a  more  attractive  name, — that  of  Republicans. 
Fierce  was  the  strife  between  these  parties,  and  Chief  Justice  McKean 
could  not  descend  (as  unhappily  for  his  fame  he  did)  from  his  judicial 
seat  to  lead  in  the  onslaughts  of  one  of  them  without  spots  on  his 
ermine.  The  Constitution,  it  was  urged,  wanted  checks  and  balances 
and  a  due  distribution  of  power,  and  it  was  replied  that  none  but  aristo 
crats  and  federalists  would  see  this  imaginary  defect  in  such  a  perfect 
exemplar  of  polity.  To  the  council  of  censors,  soon  to  meet,  belonged, 
it  was  contended,  the  power  to  call  a  convention ;  but  it  was  replied 
that  the  representation  therein  was  unequal,  the  counties  with  different 
populations  having  each  two  members  in  this  body,  and  a  two-thirds 
vote  necessary  unlikely  to  be  given,  and  its  members  (a  puerile  ob 
jection)  under  oath  to  maintain  the  government  existing.  The  Legis 
lature  enacted  that  a  convention  should  be  called  and  an  election  held 
for  its  members,  of  whom  the  most  prominent  were  McKean,  Mifflin, 

*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  tho  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  31-34. 

t  Ibid.,  pp.  35-37. 

J  Probably  from  the  difficulties  in  administering  government,  caused  by  the 
peculiar  Quaker  tenets  and  the  selfish  attempts  of  the  proprietaries  to  exempt  their 
lands  from  a  fair  show  of  taxation. 


338  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  Wilson,  Constitutionalists,  and  Snyder,  Findley,  and  Smiley,  Re 
publicans, — the  former  having  a  small  majority.  A  new  constitution 
was  the  result  (A.D.  1790),  better  than  the  one  it  superseded,  because  it 
provided  a  senate,  the  life-tenure  of  judges  in  the  superior  courts,  and  dis 
carded  the  executive  council,  a  clog  to  an  efficient  executive,  or  a  cloak  to 
an  incompetent  or  faithless  chief  magistrate,  while  it  gave  the  governor 
a  qualified  veto.*  McKean  was  chairman  of  "the  committee  of  the 
whole"  of  the  convention  which  considered  the  amendments  proposed 
to  the  constitution,  and  therefore  excluded  from  the  prominent  share 
he  would  otherwise  have  taken  in  the  discussions  they  called  forth.  It 
should  be  remembered  to  his  honor  that  he  was  author  of  the  provision 
in  the  new  constitution  for  the  gratuitous  education  of  the  poor.f 

The  enthusiasm  of  the  American  people  for  France,  at  the  com 
mencement  of  her  revolution,  was  natural,  but  it  soon  became  so  ex 
travagant  as  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the  United  States  and 
endanger  the  peace  happily  subsisting  between  them  and  other  nations. 
In  imitation  of  French  Jacobins,  societies,  named  democratic,  were  or 
ganized  throughout  the  States,  and  hence  the  French  party  derived  the 
name  of  "Democrats,"  who,  defeated  in  their  insane  purpose  of  so  com 
mitting  their  government  to  the  support  of  the  Jacobins  as  to  involve 
it  in  war  with  England,  by  the  wise  policy  of  Washington  were  now 
fast  arraying  themselves  in  opposition  to  his  administration.  McKean 
saw  they  would  be  the  dominant  party  in  Pennsylvania,  and  with  Gov 
ernor  Mifflin,  they  having  more  popularity  and  influence  than  any  beside 
them,  he  determined,  like  the  vicar  of  Bray,  to  be  always  with  the  win 
ning  side,  declared  himself  a  Democrat,  and  thus  Mifflin's  re-election  as 
governor  was  gained. J 

McKean  and  Ross  were  appointed  by  Pennsylvania  commissioners 
to  attempt,  in  conjunction  with  those  appointed  by  the  United  States, 
to  pacify  the  counties  disturbed  by  the  whiskey  insurrectionists,  but 
they  wrere  unsuccessful.  At  Carlisle,  as  they  returned,  they  required 
persons  guilty  of  acts  of  sedition  to  enter  recognizance  to  be  of  good  be 
havior,  and  scarcely  had  turned  their  backs  on  this  village,  as  it  then 
was,  when  they  were  burned  in  effigy.  Perhaps  the  Chief  Justice  was 
consoled  under  this  outrage  by  the  hope  that  it  might  be  his  province 
to  try  and  sentence  the  perpetrators  of  this  insult  to  his  dignity, — if  so, 
I  am  sure  full  justice  would  have  been  meted  to  them,  perhaps  untem- 
pered  by  mercy.  § 

I  cannot  better  narrate  McKean  7s  history  in  the  closing  period  of  his 
chief-justiceship,  and  through  some  of  the  nine  years  he"  filled  the  office 
of  governor,  than  by  grouping  from  the  volumes  of  a  recent  historian 
the  following  paragraphs : 

"While  the  newly -appointed  American  envoys  [to  France,  A.D. 
1797]  were  preparing  to  depart,  Monroe,  the  recalled  minister  [with 
implied  censure],  arrived  in  Philadelphia.  The  opposition  received  him 
with  open  arms,  and  he  was  entertained  at  a  public  dinner,  at  which 


*Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  i.  pp.  231-237. 
f  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  p.  40. 
J  Hildretli's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp.  231-237.     Ibid.,  p.  425. 
|  Ibid.,  pp.  505,  511. 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  339 

McKean  presided,  and  Jefferson,  the  Vice-President,  with  a  large  num 
ber  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  including  Dayton,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  were  present.  In  the  warmth  of  applause  and  ap 
proval  McKean's  speech  of  welcome  to  Monroe  fell  little  short  of  the 
eulogies  of  Merlin  and  Barras,  models  he  seemed  desirous  to  imitate.* 
"  Yrujo,  the  Spanish  minister,  following  in  the  wake  of  France,  had 
warmly  remonstrated  against  Jay's  treaty,  as  unfair  towards  Spain  and 
inconsistent  with  the  treaty  of  the  United  States  with  her.  Cobbett, 
in  his  gazette,  inveighed  against  the  subserviency  of  Spain  to  France, — 
to  her  king  to  the  infidel  despots  of  Paris,  to  his  minister  to  French  agents 
in  the  United  States.  Yrujo  [he  described  as]  half  don,  half  sans-cu- 
lotte.  Talleyrand  complained  of  the  newspaper  attacks  on  France,  and 
Yrujo,  of  those  on  Spain,  and  the  Attorney-General  of  the  United  States 
was  directed  to  lay  the  matter  before  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  Federal 
Court,  and  Cobbett  was  bound  over  by  Judge  Peters  to  appear  at  the 
next  term  [of  this  court].  Yrujo,  however,  preferred  bringing  this 
matter  before  the  Pennsylvania  courts,  not  only  as  a  more  speedy  pro 
cess,  but  because  he  relied  more  on  the  justice  or  favor  of  the  State- 
bench.  McKean,  whose  daughter  Yrujo  shortly  after  married,  had  not 
escaped  Cobbett's  shafts.  Not  willing  to  risk  a  civil  suit  for  damages,  or 
even  an  indictment,  McKean  resorted  to  a  contrivance  founded  on  some 
old  English  precedents,  of  doubtful  legality,  sustained  by  a  decision  of 
the  Court  of  Appeals  four  years  after,  but  nowhere  else  recognized  by 
any  court  of  law,  and  tacitly  set  aside  by  Chief  Justice  Tilghman  five 
or  six  years  afterwards.  This  was  the  contrivance  :  he  issued  his  war 
rant,  in  which  Cobbett  was  charged  generally  with  libelling  McKean, 
Mifflin,  Dallas,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  Gallatin,  and  others,  on  which  Cobbett 
was  not  only  bound  over  to  appear  at  the  next  criminal  court,  but  re 
quired  to  give  security  to  keep  the  peace  and  be  of  good  behavior  in 
the  mean  time.  He  then  commenced  collecting  everything  published  in 
Cobbett's  gazette  liable  to  be  charged  as  libellous,  with  a  view,  because 
of  the  same,  to  have  his  recognizance  declared  forfeited, — which  was 
done.  He  then  took  up  Yrujo's  case  warmly,  and  issued  a  second 
warrant,  charging  Cobbett  with  having  published  infamous  libels 
against  the  Spanish  king,  his  minister,  and  the  Spanish  nation,  tending 
to  alienate  their  regard  from  the  United  States,  to  inspire  hatred  of  her, 
and  to  excite  to  war.  To  the  grand  jury,  soon  after  assembled,  he  gave 
a  remarkable  charge,  almost  exclusively  devoted  to  the  subject  of  libels  ; 
like  all  his  judicial  performances, — for  as  a  lawyer  he  had  few  equals, — 
very  able.  Strange  to  say,  to  the  licentiousness  of  the  press  he  then  so 
truly  described  and  eloquently  denounced  till  now  he  was  insensible, 
although  it  had  been  vomiting  forth  libels  for  several  years  against 
Washington,  Hamilton,  and  other  eminent  leaders,  and  the  British  na 
tion  and  government ;  but  then,  when  a  paper  had  been  established  to 
retort  these  libels  on  the  Democrats  by  publishing  disagreeable  and 
scandalous  truths  against  their  leaders,  the  Democratic  chief  justice, 
by  an  illegal  stretch  of  power,  was  straining  every  nerve  to -induce 
the  grand  jury  to  indict  Cobbett  for  libels, — not  against  McKean  himself, 
charged  with  being  engaged  in  constant  brawls  with  his  wife,  to  such 
extent  that  blows  were  given  and  returned,  and  with  being  so  ha- 

*  Hildretlrs  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  ii.  p.  97. 


340  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

bitual  a  drunkard*  that,  according  to  a  memorial  signed  by  most  of  the 
members  of  the  Philadelphia  bar,  person  and  property  were  not  safe  in 
Pennsylvania  after  dinner, — not  for  a  libel  against  Mifflin,  charged  with 
being  an  insolvent  debtor  and  debauchee,  nor  for  a  libel  against  Dallas, 
Monroe,  Barney,  and  other  Democrats  held  up,  in  various  ways,  to  con 
tempt  and  ridicule,  but  for  a  libel  against  the  Spanish  king  and  his 
minister,  Yrujo ;  but  all  these  charges  against  McKean,  Mifflin,  and 
the  other  Democrats  [mentioned]  had  too  much  foundation  in  fact% 
easily  proved,  to  make  prosecution  expedient.  It  was  remarkable  that 
McKean  should  manifest  such  tenderness  for  the  characters  of  Barrasr, 
Merlin,  the  Spanish  king,  and  Yrujo,  when  he  had  been  unmoved  by 
the  lavish  abuse  of  Washington,  Hamilton,  and  other  eminent  Feder- 
alists.f 

"  Miffiin?s  administration  was  chiefly  controlled  by  Dallas,  his  secre 
tary,  and  Chief  Justice  McKean  ;  and  to  continue  their  power,  McKean 
was  brought  forward  [A.D.,  1799]  as  Republican  candidate,  and  defeated 
Ross,  who  was  nominated  by  the  Federalists.  J 

"Knowing  how  conservative  McKean  was  in  most  of  his  opinions, 
the  Federalists  hoped  that,  being  elected,  he  would  abate  somewhat  of 
the  vehemence  he  manifested  as  a  candidate ;  but  in  his  replies  to  the  con 
gratulatory  addresses  of  his  partisans  he  stigmatized  all  who  had  op 
posed  him  as  enemies  to  the  principles  of  the  American  Revolution, 
foreign  emissaries,  or  Federal  expectants  of  office,  and  as  soon  as  he 
was  inducted  into  office  made  a  vigorous  use  of  his  power  of  removal 
and  appointment.  Mifflin  had  appointed  chiefly  officers  his  companions 
in  the  Revolutionary  war :  these  were  generally  Federalists,  and  sup 
ported  Ross,  and  were  removed  by  McKean,  who  filled  their  places  with 
his  own  partisans.  "§ 

While  I  lament,  I  ought  not  to  conceal  or  attempt  to  palliate  the  blot 
on  McKean's  fame  that  he  inaugurated  in  Pennsylvania  the  mean,  mer 
cenary,  and  corrupting  principle,  "  that  to  the  victors  belong  the  spoils," 
which  has  since  too  much  governed  in  our  party  contests.  His  pro 
scription  of  Federal  office-holders  was  wide,  ruthless,  and  unrelenting. 
Writing  to  Jefferson,  10th  January,  1801,  he  regrets  "only  that  he  did 
not  remove  ten  or  eleven  more,  because  it  is  imprudent  to  foster  spies 
and  put  daggers  in  the  hands  of  assassins."  Not  content  with  this  pro 
scription,  which  had  spread  dismay  and  ruin  through  the  ranks  of  the 
vanquished  Federalists,  he  used,  with  apparent  alacrity,  his  great  in 
fluence  with  President  Jefferson  to  extend  it  to  Delaware.  In  a  letter  to 
him,  20th  July,  1801,  avowedly  as  the  agent  of  Democrats  in  this 
State,  he  writes,  "  The  anti-Republicans,  even  those  in  office,  are  as 
hostile  as  ever,  though  not  so  insolent.  To  overcome  them  they  must 
be  shaven,  for  in  their  offices  (like  Samson's  hair  locks)  their  great 
strength  lieth:  their  disposition  for  mischief  will  remain,  but  the  power 
of  doing  it  will  be  gone."  He  wrote  to  John  Dickinson,  June  23d, 
1800,  "I  have  never  had  greater  employment  for  body  and  mind  than 

*  It  is  improbable  that  a  habitual  drunkard  could  have  lived,  as  McKean  did, 
to  over  his  eighty-third  year. 

f  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  scries),  vol.  ii.  pp.  162-173. 
J  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol  ii.  pp.  313,  314,  360,  361. 
|  Biography  of  the  Signers,  vol.  iv.  p.  45.  Ibid.,  p.  42. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  341 

for  the  last  six  months.  I  have  waded  through  ,a  sea  of  troubles,  and 
have  surmounted  my  principal  difficulties ;  I  have  been  obliged,  though 
no  Hercules,  to  cleanse  the  Augean  stable  [such  he  deemed  Pennsyl 
vania  as  long  as  there  were  Federal  office-holders  within  her  bounda 
ries]  with  little  or  no  aid,  for  I  have  been  my  own  minister  and  aman 
uensis.  A  governor  of  Pennsylvania  has  more  duty  to  perform  than 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  or  any  [other]  governor  in  the 
Union."  During  his  long  public  career  he  never  turned  his  back  to  an 
enemy  or  shrunk  from' any  labor.  The  writer  of  "  McKean's  Life,"  in 
volume  iv.  of  the  Biographies  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration,  having 
(p.  42)  well  asserted  his  duty  to  expose  the  defects  of  his  subject  with 
out  being  turned  aside  by  respect  for  national  or  family  feeling,  further 
most  truly  remarks :  "Patriotism  could  have  had  no  part  in  loading 
with  reproach  and  detruding  from  office  upright  and  (according  to  their 
views)  honest  politicians  of  a  particular  party,  as  unworthy  to  share 
the  honors  or  eat  the  bread  of  their  country.  When  parties  conquer, 
are  the  possessions  of  the  vanquished  power,  however  honestly  ac 
quired  and  honorably  maintained,  to  be  parcelled  out,  in  the  true  spirit 
of  the  feudal  system,  among  the  champions  of  their  leaders  ?  No  soph 
istry  can  justify  acts  by  which  helpless  families  are  reduced  to  indi 
gence  and  expelled  from  their  homes,  not  because  of  the  infidelity  of 
their  heads  to  their  official  trusts,  but  because  they  held  not  the  political 
principles  of  the  new  party  in  power." — Ibid.,  p.  43.* 

In  January,  1800,  Governor  McKean  delivered  his  inaugural  address 
to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature,  to  which  this  body  responded,  ap 
proving  its  opinions,  but  coupling  with  it  what  he  considered  a  repri 
mand  of  the  prescriptive  style  of  his  replies  to  congratulatory  addresses 
upon  his  election  and  upon  his  system  of  removals  from  office.  "  Never 
patient  of  reproof,  he  made  a  long  and  caustic  reply,  marked  by  the 
usual  ability  of  his  writings,  denying  their  right  to  intermeddle  in  the 
form  of  an  address  with  these  matters,  "f  This  occurrence,  to  those 
who  knew  the  man,  foreshadowed  a  stormy  term  of  office  as  before  him, 
and  that  he  would  be  more  disturbed  by  the  disgust  and  disloyalty  of 
the  Democrats,  provoked  by  his  intractables,  than  by  the  hatred  of  the 
Federalists. 

In  1803  Thomas  McKean  was  re-elected  Governor  of  Pennsylvania-. 
The  ascendency  of  the  Democrats  was  soon  endangered  by  the  schemes 
of  ambitious  and  restless  men,  who  pushed  the  theories  of  their  party 
to  extremes,  destructive  of  good  government,  which  he  was  too  wise  to 
approve,  and,  disapproving,  too  honest  to  further.  Dictation  was  tried, 
to  which  he  never  submitted.  Lawyers  were  especially  obnoxious  to 

*  It  was  plausibly  urged,  in  defence  of  his  proscription  of  his  political  enemies, 
that  to  have  retained  in  office,  at  the  commencement  of  his  administration,  men 
who,  during  the  preceding  contest,  had  been  violent  and  intemperate  in  their 
opposition  to  him  and  his  friends  and  their  principles,  would  have  made  the 
easy  and  efficient  working  of  the  State  government  difficult  to  be  accomplished, 
and  have  manifested  disregard  and  contempt  for  the  will  of  the  people,  clearly 
indicated  that  these  incumbents  should  give  place  to  persons  who  would  co-oper 
ate  in  maintaining  the  true  doctrines  of  the  Democratic  party.  Further,  it  is 
stated  that  upon  the  subsidence  of  intense  political  excitement,  he  conferred 
offices,  especially  hit^h  judicial  ones,  without  respect  to  party. 

f  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  ii.  pp.  361,  362. 


342  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

these  ultra  Democrats,  „"  who  thought  if  they  could  get  rid  of  trials  by 
jury  they  would  also  be  rid  of  lawyers,  and  therefore  passed  an  act 
substituting  referees  for  jury  trials,  and  prohibiting  the  employment  of 
counsel  in  reference  cases.  This  act  McKean  vetoed,  and  another,  ex 
tending  the  jurisdiction  of  justices  of  the  peace,  which  they  passed  over 
him.  The  quarrel  soon  rose  to  a  great  height,  and  he  was  violently 
assailed  by  his  late  ally,  Duane,  aided  by  Leib."*  The  breach  between 
these  quondam  friends  went  on  widening.  "The  fury  of  the  'Aurora' 
and  ultra  Democrats  on  the  acquittal  of  several  of  the  Pennsylvania 
judges,  who  had  been  impeached  in  1805,  knew  no  bounds.  They 
started  immediately  the  project  of  remodelling  the  Constitution.  This 
was  opposed  by  the  more  moderate  Democrats,  including  the  approvers 
of  McKean's  vetoes  and  the  enemies  of  Duane  and  Leib.  The  mod 
erate  Democrats  took  the  name  of '  Constitutionalists,'  and  organized  a 
'  Constitutional  Society,'  and  the  other  section  of  the  Democrats  a  club, 
called  the  '  Friends  of  the  People.'  The  Federalists  looked  on  and  en 
joyed  the  strife.  The  ultra  Democrats  nominated  Snyder  for  governor, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Constitution,  McKean.  He  was  stigmatized  as  a 
demagogue,  ready  to  make  display  to  obtain  preferment,  of  the  most 
Republican  zeal,  being  all  the  while,  by  education,  sentiment,  and  habit, 
an  overbearing  aristocrat  who,  having  obtained  office  first  and  re-elec 
tion  to  it,  had  always  treated  the  Democratic  Legislature  with  sullen- 
ness  and  virulence  and  disrespect,  and  had  finally  attempted,  with  Fed 
eral  aid,  to  set  up  a  third  party.  He  and  his  friends  now  felt  the  biting 
lash  of  the  'Aurora.'  The  Federalists  generally  supported  McKean, 
and  he  was  elected  [for  the  third  time]  governor  by  five  thousand  ma 
jority^  and  turned  out  of  office  the  more  vehement  Democrats,  as  he 
had  turned  out  the  Federalists,  and  commenced  a  number  of  libel  suits. 
The  ultra  Democrats,  at  the  fall  election  in  1806,  recovered  their  as 
cendency,  and  proposed  to  impeach  McKeau,  but  referred  decisive  action 
to  the  next  Assembly." 

Early  in  1807  petitions  from  the  city  and  county  of  Philadelphia 
were  sent  to  the  Legislature,  praying  an  inquiry  into  the  conduct  of 
Governor  McKean.  They  were  referred  to  a  committee,  who  reported 
that  he  had  avoided  a  late  election  of  sheriff  in  Philadelphia;  had  usurped 
judicial  authority  by  issuing  a  warrant  for  the  arrest  of  one  Joseph 
Cabrera,  and  interfered  illegally  and  unconstitutionally  in  favor  of  a 
convicted  forger ;  that  illegally  he  appointed  Dr.  Buchanan  physician 
to  the  Lazaretto,  and  superseded  Reynolds,  a  member  of  the  Board  of 
Health,  and  unconstitutionally  suffered  his  name  to  be  stamped  on 
blank  patents ;  and  did  offer  and  authorize  to  be  made  overtures  to  dis 
continue  two  actions  of  the  State  against  William  Duane,  for  the  for 
feiture  of  two  recognizances  of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  on  condition 
that  he  would  discontinue  civil  suits  against  his  son,  Joseph  B.  McKean, 
and  others,  for  a  homicidal  assault  by  them  upon  Duane.  After  dilating 
upon  these  accusations,  as  showing  tyranny  and  corruption  dangerous 
to  the  people,  in  terms  so  embittered  as  to  point  to  disappointed  poli 
ticians  as  having  prompted  them,  this  committee  recommend  that 

*Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  pp.  514,  515. 
f  Ibid.,  pp.  564,  666. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  343 

Thomas  McKean.  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  be  impeached  of 
high  crimes  and  misdemeanors.  The  friends  of  McKean  pressed  the 
consideration  of  this  resolution,  and  on  the  27th  of  January,  1808,  it 
was  taken  up  and  indefinitely  postponed,  though  only  by  three  votes. 
On  the  28th  of  this  month  he  sent,  by  his  secretary,  his  reply  to  the 
charges  made  against  him,  which  he  was  obliged  to  do,  inasmuch  as 
the  House  having  with  justice  and  independence,  of  which  he  was  sen 
sible,  refused  to  impeach  him,  he  could  not  defend  himself  before  a 
competent  tribunal.  "He  reviewed  the  charges  with  his  usual  ability, 
admitting  the  sixth,  but  denying  the  inference  of  any  corrupt  partiality 
or  any  misbehavior  under  any  of  the  proposed  articles  of  impeachment. 
He  began  with  the  solemn  declaration  that  no  .act  of  his  public  or  pri 
vate  life  had  been  prompted  by  malice,  love  of  power,  or  desire  of  wealth, 
whatever  might  have  been  his  errors  of  judgment ;  and  no  doubt  he  was 
honest  in  this  assertion,  such  is  the  power  of  self-deception  with  men 
of  his  temperament."*  This  replication  contains  a  masterly  disquisition 
upon  many  of  the  powers  and  duties  of  the  executive,  which  has  borne 
scrutiny,  and  is  a  useful  guide  on  the  questions  and  others  similar  to 
those  of  which  it  treats.f 

In  1808  Thomas  McKean  completed  the  third  term  of  his  service  in 
the  office  of  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  and  retired  from  public  life. 
Three  years  after  he  wrote  to  John  Adams:  "I  have  shaken  hands 
with  the  world,  and  we  have  said  farewell  to  each  other.  The  toys 
and  rattles  of  childhood  would,  in  a  few  years  more,  be  as  suitable  to 
me  as  offices,  honors,  or  wealth ;  but  (thank  God)  my  faculties  of  mind 
are  yet  little,  if  any,  impaired,  and  my  affections  and  friendships  remain 
unshaken.  Since  my  exemption  from  official  and  professional  duties  I 
have  enjoyed  a  tranquillity  never  (during  a  long-protracted  life)  hereto 
fore  experienced,  and  my  health  and  comforts  are  sufficient  for  a  mod 
erate  man."  But  he  left  the  retirement,  his  happiness  in  which  was 
the  well-deserved  reward  of  his  services  to  his  country,  to  give  his  last 
manifestation  of  his  undying  love  for  her.  The  menaced  attack  upon 
Washington,  in  1814,  aroused  the  people  of  Philadelphia  to  a  proper 
sense  of  the  necessity  of  defence  against  the  enemy,  who  might  soon 
assail  her.  There  was  a  great  assemblage  of  the  citizens  of  Philadel 
phia,  August  26th,  in  the  State-House  square,  to  determine  upon  the 
measures  necessary  for  the  protection  of  their  altars  and  their  hearths. 
McKean  was  requested  to  be  present,  and  when  he  entered  that  square, 
where  the  Declaration  of  Independence  he  had  so  eloquently  and  boldly 
advocated  and  sustained  with  such  unwavering  zeal  was  proclaimed,  he 
was  received  not  with  acclamation,  but  with  respect  and  reverence  too 
heartfelt  for  such  expression  of  them.  He  was  called  unanimously  to 
the  chair,  and  in  a  brief  speech,  with  all  the  dignity,  and  somewhat,  at 
least,  of  the  eloquence  with  which  he  stirred  the  hearts  of  the  men  of 
Seventy-six,  the  venerable  man  set  forth  the  peril  which  was  so  immi 
nent,  and  urged  the  prompt  adoption  of  measures  to  meet  it.  In  the 
report  of  the  proceedings  of  this  meeting  there  is  this  graphic  account 
of  them :  "  There  was  no  parade  of  devotion  to  the  country,  and  no 
long  speeches,  for  Governor  McKean  said  'this  was  not  a  time  for 

*Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  pp.  676,  678. 

f  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  p.  53. 


344  LIFE   AND    COERESPONDENGE 

speaking  but  acting ;'  no  declarations  of  oblivion  of  the  past,  for  Gov 
ernor  McKean  said  '  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  past,  we  must 
only  think  of  the  present;'  and  there  was  no  recommendation  to  sup 
press  party  contentions,  for  Governor  McKean  said  '  there  were  but 
two  parties — our  country  and  its  invaders.'  "* 

On  the  lTth  day  of  June,  1817,  he  died  in  the  eighty-fourth  year  of  his 
age.  His  grave  is  in  the  cemetery  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Philadelphia,  to  which  he  belonged.  He  was  tall,  erect,  and  dignified,  and 
his  face  expressive  of  ability,  courage,  and  fortitude,  which  were  his  cha 
racteristics.  His  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Joseph  Borden,  of  New 
Jersey,  and  his  second  Miss  Armitage,  of  New  Castle,  in  the  State  of 
Delaware.  By  the  first  wife  he  had  six,  and  by  the  second  eleven, 
children. 


*  Biography  of  the  Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  iv.  pp.  56-58. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  345 


CHAPTER  V. 

Gloomy  state  of  affairs  (1779) — British  make  the  Southern  States  the  seat  of  war 
— Report  of  committee  of  Delaware  General  Assembly  on  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation — Mr.  Read  author  of  it  and  of  act  authorizing  Delaware  delegates  to 
ratify  these  articles — Resigns  his  seat  in  the  General  Assembly  of  Delaware — 
Letter  of  Jumes  Read — Policy  of  France  and  Spain — Mr.  Read  member  of 
Delaware  Legislative  Council,  1780 — Summary  of  events,  1780-81 — Letters  of 
Messrs.  Read,  Dickinson,  and  Bassett — Gift  of  State  constitutions  from  J. 
Dickinson  to  Mr.  Read — Letters  of  Mr.  S.  Wharton  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Read  to 
Mr.  Read — Letter  of  Mr.  Dickinson — Mr.  Read  appointed  Judge  of  Court  of 
Appeals  in  admiralty  cases — Letter  of  Mr.  Boudinot,  and  his  reply  on  this  occa 
sion — Subserviency  to  Pennsylvania  in  the  appointment  of  Delaware  delegates 
to  Congress  falsely  charged  in  1782 — State  of  public  affairs — Letter  of  Gunning 
Bedford  announcing  treaty  of  peace — Letters  of  Mr.  Read  and  Mr.  Dickinson 
— "Letter  of  credit"  to  Nathan  Thomas — Act  of  Delaware  Legislature  for 
"  calling  in,  paying,  and  destroying  certain  bills  of  credit,"  and  protest  of 
Messrs.  Bassett  and  Read  against  a  provision  thereof — Death  of  the  Rev.  Wil 
liam  Thomson — Inconvenience  from  the  "letter  of  credit"  to  N.  Thomas; 
which  continued — Mr.  Read  re-elected  to  the  Legislative  Council  of  Delaware 
— Sends  his  youngest  son  to  Princeton  College — His  letter  to  President  Wither- 
spoon — Oppressed  with  business — Letter  to  J,  Dickinson — State  of  public 
affairs  (178G) — Letters  of  C.  Thomson  and  Mr.  Read — His  letter  to  President 
Van  Dyke,  and  his  reply  and  comments  on  it — Letter  of  Mr.  Read  to  C.  Thom 
son,  and  of  J.  Dickinson  to  Mr.  Read — Remarks  on  state  of  public  affairs — 
Mr.  Read  elected  Commissioner  to  Commercial  Convention  proposed  to  meet 
at  Annapolis — Resolves  of  Congress  as  to  Court  of  Appeals,  and  letter  of  C. 
Thomson  in  relation  to  them — Letter  of  J.  Dickinson  as  to  journey  to  Annapo 
lis;  remarks  thereon — Letters  of  Cyrus  Griffin  and  James  Read — Commission 
ers  meet  at  Annapolis;  result — Mr.  Read's  letter  to  C.  Thomson  as  to  conflict 
of  his  duties  to  attend  "  Court  of  Appeals"  and  General  Assembly  of  Delaware, 
both  meeting  in  November,  1780 — Letters  of  Messrs.  Read  and  Dickinson — 
Appendix  "A,"  authority  to  Delaware  delegates  to  ratify  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation — Appendix  "  B,"  account  of  "  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases" 
— Appendix  "C,"  state  of  polls  at  election  in  New  Castle  County,  1780 — Ap 
pendix  "  D,"  commission  of  Delaware  delegates  to  convention  at  Annapolis — 
Appendix  "E,"  notice  of  Thomas  Collins — Appendix  "  F" — notice  of  Dr. 
"Witherspoon. 

EARLY  in  1779  General  Washington  wrote  to  one  of  his 
friends,  "I  have  seen  without  despondency,  even  for  a  mo 
ment,  the  hours  which  America  has  styled  her  gloomy  ones, 
but  I  have  beheld  no  day  since  the  commencement  of  hos 
tilities  when  I  have  thought  her  liberties  in  such  imminent 
danger  as  at  present."  For  this  apprehension  there  was  too 
much  ground.  The  treaty  of  alliance  with  France,  received 
with  exultation,  as  securing  independence,  it  now  seemed, 
was  to  make  all  past  toils  and  sacrifices  for  this  great  end 
unavailing  by  one  of  its  results, — the  general  persuasion 
that  it  rendered  further  exertions  of  America  in  the  war 

23 


346  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

with  Great  Britain  unnecessary.  In  consequence  of  this 
mistaken  opinion,  universal  apathy  prevailed.  In  vain  in 
dividuals  and  States  were  urged  to  the  sacrifices  and  efforts 
essential  to  success, — the  empty  treasury  of  the  Confederacy 
was  not  replenished,  and,  when  the  season  of  active 
operations  in  the  field  had  almost  commenced,  the  States, 
called  upon  months  before  by  Congress  for  their  quotas  of 
troops,  had  yet  to  adopt  measures  for  raising  them.  Thirst 
for  office  and  greed  of  gain,  impelling  men  to  reckless  and 
ruinous  speculation,  prevailed  to  a  great  extent,  and  Con 
gress,  torn  by  dissensions  originated  by  mutual  criminations 
of  some  of  her  diplomatic  agents,  had  ceased  to  command 
universal  reverence  and  confidence,  as  in  happier  antece 
dent  periods,  and  it  did  not  deserve  them,  the  ablest  and 
most  patriotic  of  its  members  having  withdrawn  from  its 
halls  to  the  service  of  the  State  or  to  private  life.  The  de 
preciated  bills  of  the  States  and  of  Congress  were  hourly 
becoming  more  depreciated,  and  this  was  a  mighty  evil. 
That  the  enemy,  lately  ready  to  abandon  the  contest  as 
hopeless,  should,  under  the  circumstances,  be  emboldened 
to  persevere  in  it,  was  to  be  expected.  It  was  determined 
by  the  British  ministry  to  make  the  Southern  States  the 
seat  of  war ;  disaffection  prevailed  in  parts  of  them  to  such 
an  extent  as  to  awaken  the  hope  that  they  could  be  subju 
gated,  and,  if  conquered,  should  Britain  be  compelled  to  ac 
knowledge  the  independence  of  the  middle  and  northern 
colonies,  she  might  still  retain  the  richer  southern  ones,  or 
at  any  rate  obtain  better  terms  by  surrendering  them  for 
equivalents.  Retaining  the  city  of  New  York  and  the  ad 
jacent  isles,  with  Rhode  Island, — his  troops  being  in  number 
sixteen  or  seventeen  thousand, — Sir  Henry  Clinton  sent 
forth  detachments  from  his  army  to  ravage  vulnerable  parts 
of  Virginia  and  Connecticut,  while  General  Washington, 
with  an  inferior  force,  could  only  protect  the  country  east 
and  west  of  the  Hudson  from  spoliation,  and  especially  the  . 
passes  of  the  Highlands  from  being  seized  by  the  British, 
wisely  preserving  his  army,  in  positions  impregnable,  for 
co-operation  with  the  troops  of  his  Most  Christian  Majesty, 
soon  to  be  welcomed  to  their  shores. 

Mr.  Read  was  among  the  able  and  patriotic  men  whose 
absence  from  the  Continental  Congress  Washington  de 
plored,  but  still  he  was  a  member  of  the  Council  of  Del 
aware. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  347 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1779,  Thomas  McKean  laid  before 
Congress  sundry  resolutions  relative  to  the  Articles  of  Con 
federation  and  Perpetual  Union  adopted  by  the  Council  of 
Delaware,  in  the  preceding  month  of  January,  and  con 
curred  in  by  the  House  of  Assembly  previously  to  the  pas 
sage  of  a  law  empowering  their  delegates  in  Congress  to 
sign  and  ratify  them.*  Mr.  Read,  one  of  the  committee 
appointed  to  take  these  articles  into  consideration,  wrote 
these  resolutions  and  the  report  of  this  committee,  which  I 
offer  to  my  readers  as  a  specimen  of  his  style,  and  the  able 
opinion  of  a  sound  lawyer  upon  a  subject  of  great  interest. 

"  The  committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  proposed  by  Congress  for  a  Union  of  the 
States  of  America,  do  report  thereupon  as  follows  : 

"  That,  having  duly  considered  the  said  articles,  they 
generally  approve  of  the  same,  but  that  there  are  particular 
parts  of  the  eighth  and  ninth  articles  liable  to  just  and 
strong  objections,  and,  should  they  continue  unaltered, 
will,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  prove  prejudicial  in 
their  effects,  not  only  to  this  State,  but  to  the  general  con 
federacy. 

"  That  part  of  the  eighth  article  objected  to,  and  disap 
proved  by  your  committee,  is  the  manner  prescribed  for  the 
supply  of  a  common  treasury  by  the  several  States,  to  wit : 
'in  proportion  to  the  value  of  land  within  each  State 
granted  to  or  surveyed  for  any  person,  as  such  land  and  the 
buildings  and  improvements  thereon  shall  be  estimated,  ac 
cording  to  such  mode  as  the  United  States,  in  congress 
assembled,  shall  from  time  to  time  direct  and  agpoint.'^ 
Such  valuation,  in  any  mode  we  can  suppose  to  produce 
equality,  appears  to  your  committee  an  impracticable 
thing ;  but  if  not,  it  will  be  attended  with  so  great  expense 
of  money  and  time,  and  that  to  be  frequently  repeated, 
from  the  sudden  alterations  in  the  value  of  such  property, 
that  your  committee  think  the  establishing  the  proportion 
of  each  State  by  the  number  of  its  inhabitants,  of  every 
age,  sex,  and  quality,  would  prove  a  more  equal  and  less 
expensive  mode  of  ascertaining  such  proportion, 

*  Congress  (February  23d,  1779)  ordered  these  resolutions  to  be 
filed,  with  the  protest  that  they  should  not  by  so  ordering  be  under 
stood  as  admitting  the  claims  therein  set  up. — Journal  of  Congress, 
vol.  v.  pp.  49,  50. 


348  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  Your  committee  also  consider  the  confining  such  valua 
tion  to  the  granted  or  surveyed  lands  as  inequitable,  as.  they 
conceive  the  lands  not  yet  granted  have  a  value,  and,  if  so, 
they  ought  to  contribute  pro  rata  towards  the  discharge  of 
the  great  debt  created  by  the  States,  under  their  past  united 
efforts  in  the  protection  of  that  species  of  property,  in  com 
mon  with  others,  unless  all  the  ungranted  land  shall  be 
considered  as  jointly  belonging  to  the  United  States,  as  con 
quered  at  the  common  expense  of  blood  and  treasure,  and 
which  your  committee  consider  they  ought  to  be,  on  every 
principle  of  justice  and  sound  policy,  and  that  joint  right 
expressed  in  the  articles  in  as  clear  and  precise  terms  as 
that  'the  bills  of  credit  emitted,  money  borrowed,  and 
debts  contracted,  by  or  under  the  authority  of  Congress, 
shall,  be  deemed  and  considered  as  a  charge  against  the 
United  States.'  But  this  joint  right,  your  committee  ap 
prehend,  may  hereafter  be  said  to  be  resigned  to  each  State 
wherein  such  lands  lie,  by  certain  parts  of  and  expressions 
in  the  ninth  article,  disapproved  of  by  your  committee,  to 
wit:  by  the  words  '  provided,  also,  that  no  State  shall  be 
deprived  of  territory  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States/ 
at  the  latter  end  of  the  second  section ;  and  those  words  in 
the  fourth  section,  which  prescribe  the  powers  of  Congress, 
viz.:  £ regulating  the  trade  and  managing  all  the  affairs 
with  the  Indians  not  members  of  any  of  the  States,  pro 
vided  that  the  legislative  right  of  any  State,  ivithin  its  own 
limits,  shall  not  be  infringed  or  violated.' 

"  From  the  vague  and  extravagant  descriptions  of  some 
of  the  States,  in  the  first  grants  or  charters  for  government, 
their  claims  for  western  limits  have  been  to  the  Southern 
Ocean,  including  countries  partially  possessed  by  the  kings 
of  France  and  Spain.  The  provisional  expressions  in  the 
article  above  mentioned,  your  committee  apprehend,  may 
and  will  be  insisted  to  mean  an  admission  of  the  extent  of 
their  respective  limits  westward  to  the  said  sea,  and  that 
all  the  ungranted  land  within  those  limits  is  State  territory, 
and  solely  in  the  disposition  of  the  States  claiming  those 
limits,  though  heretofore  considered  as  belonging  to  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  occasionally  granted,  with 
reservation  of  rents,  to  a  great  amount.  Such  admission, 
your  committee  apprehend,  ought  not  to  be,  for  that  it  will 
appropriate  that  to  individual  States  which  hath  been  or 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  0  349 

may  be  acquired  by  the  arms  of  the  States  general,  and 
will  furnish  such  individual  State  with  a  fund  of  wealth 
and  strength  which  may  prompt  them  to  subdue  their 
neighbors,  and  eventually  destroy  the  fabric  we  are  now 
raising.  To  prevent  which  consequences,  your  committee 
are  of  opinion  that  not  only  the  joint  right  in  the  urigranted 
land  should  be  expressed,  as  before  mentioned,  but  that  a 
moderate  extent  of  limits  beyond  the  present  settlements 
in  each  of  these  States  should  be  provided  for  in  the  said 
articles. 

"Your  committee  also  object  to  and  disapprove  of  the 
whole  of  the  second  section  of  the  ninth  article  aforesaid, 
as  destroying  and  taking  away  the  legal  jurisdiction  of  the 
courts  of  law  established  within  this  State  for  determining 
controversies  concerning  private  rights  to  lands  within  the 
same,  without  fixing,  with  precision,  another  jurisdiction 
for  the  purpose." 

Mr.  Read  also  drafted  the  act  of  Assembly  which  au 
thorized  the  delegates  of  Delaware  to  ratify  the  Articles  of 
Confederation/11 

C.  Clay,  a  merchant,  writes  to  Mr.  Read  as  follows  from 


"PHILADELPHIA,  March  24th, 

"  SIR,  —  Agreeable  to  your  request,  I  have  inquired  the  rate 
of  exchange  between  this  city  and  London,  which  I  believe 
is  from  fourteen  to  fifteen  hundred  per  cent.,  though  I  am 
not  sufficiently  informed  to  fix  it  precisely.  Bills  on  France 
can  be  had  at  nine  hundred;  indeed,  'exchange  is  generally 
governed  by  the  price  of  specie,  which,  I  am  told,  has  been 
sold  at  eleven  or  twelve  for  one. 

"  Your  very  obedient  servant, 

«  C.  CLAY." 

In  a  letter  from  Philadelphia  (26th  May,  1779)  to  Mr. 
Read  from  his  brother  James,  he  states  :  "  We  have  been 
in  a  great  bustle  here  yesterday  at  what  they  call  a  Town 
Meeting,  for  the  declared  purpose  of  lowering  the  prices  of 
goods.  It  was  exceedingly  disorderly  ;  many  people  were 
taken  to  jail  and  remain  there.  How  this  \vill  end  I  can 
not  say."  And  June  19th,  1779,  he  informs  Mr.  Read 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


350  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  that  the  town  meetings  and  committees,  who  told  us  they 
would  lower  the  price  of  goods  and  raise  the  credit  of  money, 
have  made  bad  worse,  and  are  ashamed  of  having  exposed 
their  weakness ;  and  that,  by  a  newspaper  publication,  the 
wise  men  of  Wilmington  have  undertaken  the  same  busi 


ness." 


James  Read  (23d  March,  1779)  informs  Mr.  Read  that 
"Vattel's  Law  of  Nations"  would  readily  bring  four  hundred 
dollars,  and  one  volume  of  "  Gibbon"  forty  dollars.  July 
13th,  1779,  acknowledges  the  receipt  of  one  thousand  dol 
lars  for  a  mare ;  and  21st  of  October  of  that  year  informs 
him  that  at  a  prize  sale  he  bid  as  high  as  fifty-five  pounds 
for  a  ream  of  indifferent  writing  paper,  but  did  not  get  it, 
because  it  went  up  to  seventy-five  pounds.  Mr.  Read 
(llth  March,  1780)  sends  his  brother  James  twelve  hun 
dred  dollars,  to  make  ordinary  purchases  for  his  family,  and 
is  informed  that  cassimere  is  three  hundred,  and  jean  and 
habit  cloth  sixty,  dollars  per  yard.  How  could  this  be  ? 
yhe  dollars  were  paper  dollars,  and  depreciation  of  cur 
rency,  one  of  the  greatest  of  national  calamities,  had  fallen 
like  a  blight  upon  our  forefathers, — part  of  the  price  they 
paid  for  independence. 

Mr.  Read  no  doubt  read  with  sorrow  the  letter  below 
from  his  brother  James,  of  the  7th  of  August,  1779.  It 
shows  that  at  this  time  Philadelphia  was  brought  to  a  state 
bordering  upon  anarchy  by  the  parties  who  disturbed  and 
disgraced  it  by  their  insane  violence  : 

"DEAR  BROTHER, — I  had  your  favor  of  the  5th  inst.,  by 
Mr.  Tatlow,  for  which  I  thank  you,  and  have  only  to  ob 
serve  that  though  1  may  be  considered  as  moving  in  the 
very  centre  of  politics,  yet  I  am  quite  ignorant  of  the  pres 
ent  system.  I  cannot  help  remarking  that  we  have  no 
government,  and,  I  was  [almost]  going  to  say,  no  laws,  for 
every  man  who  takes  a  club  in  his  hand  to  town  meetings 
(which,  by-the-by,  have  been  very  frequent  of  late)  under 
takes  to  be  governor :  and  our  executive  powers  submit 
very  patiently  to  their  new  masters.  Where  it  will  end  I 
know  not,  but  must  say  that,  great  as  my  dislike  to  the 
Constitution*  may  be,  it  is  much  greater  to  the  present  mob 

*  Of  Pennsylvania,  then  recently  established. 


OF   GEORGE   EEAD.  351 

government.  I  am  led  to  these  reflections  by  the  late  trans 
actions  in  this  city,  where  everything  has  been  riot  for 
some  time  past ;  but  these  are  our  little  politics,  which  I  quit 
to  congratulate  you  on  the  important  news  from  the  West 
Indies,  which  has  doubtless  reached  you,  and  I  think  may 
be  relied  on,  that  the  British  fleet  are  totally  disabled,  and 
that  the  French  ride  triumphant  in  the  West  Indian  seas, 
which  I  think  must  have  great  consequences  in  our  favor; 
and  as  peace  is  our  great  object,  I  flatter  myself  we  shall 
have  it  shortly,  upon  such  terms  as  will  insure  liberty  and 
independence  to  our  country.  I  must  refer  you  to  our 
brother  Thomas  for  the  news  of  the  day.  All  send  love  to 
you  and  family  and  all  friends. 

"I  remain  your  affectionate  brother, 

"JAMES  READ." 

On  the  18th  of  August,  1779,  Mr.  Read  was  compelled 
by  ill  health  to  decline  serving  longer  in  the  Legislature  of 
Delaware.  In  his  address  on  this  occasion  to  the  freehold 
ers  of  New  Castle  County,  he  observed  "  that  he  had  served 
them  in  their  General  Assembly  for  the  twelve  preceding 
years  without  any  solicitation  on  his  part,"  and  that  "  he 
was  in  earnest  in  declining,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  courted 
to  continue  in  their  service,  having  no  sinister  ends  to 
answer  by  this  step,  which  had  been  suspected  to  have  been 
the  case  of  some  who  had  given  notice  of  the  like  kind 
heretofore." 

Spain,  jealous  of  the  maritime  superiority  of  England, 
anxious  to  recover  territories  she  had  been  forced  to  yield 
to  her,  to  avenge  what,  not  without  reason,  she  deemed 
piratical  attacks  upon  her  colonies  and  commerce,  neither 
forgotten  nor  forgiven,  though  long  submitted  to,  and  es 
pecially  to  expel  heretic  foreigners  from  that  celebrated 
fortress  on  her  own  soil  which  they  had  so  long  held,  to 
her  shame  and  humiliation, — rejoiced  at  the  disputes  be 
tween  her  hated  rival  and  her  North  American  colonies, 
and  was  ready  to  foment  them,  but  not  without  misgivings 
and  fears  of  effects  that  might  endanger  her  dominion  over, 
her  own  dependencies.  Hence  her  first  effort  was  to  effect 
by  her  mediation  between  the  belligerents,  which  she 
offered,  the  independence  of  the  North  American  colonies, 
without  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  it,  restricted  to  the 


352  LIFE   AND  CORRESPONDENCE 

Allegheny  as  their  western  limit,  and  excluded  from  the 
fisheries,*  and  thus  dwarfed  not  formidable.  She  proposed 
to  England  (France  having  accepted  her  offered  mediation) 
a  truce  of  three  years  and  a  congress  of  ambassadors  of  the 
belligerents  (those  of  the  United  States,  as  an  independent 
nation,  included)  at  Madrid,  to  agree  upon  the  conditions 
of  a  treaty  of  peace  between  them  ;  but  her  attempts  to  per 
suade  the  American  Congress  to  yield  to  the  hard  terms  she 
proposed,  as  the  condition  of  her  aid,  and  instruct  their 
ministers  to  this  proposed  congress  accordingly,  failed. 
There  were  protracted  negotiations  upon  this  proposition, 
England  evading  an  explicit  reply  to  it,  and  covertly  en 
deavoring,  as  Spain  complained,  to  treat  separately  with 
France  and  the  United  States.  The  cabinet  of  St.  James 
was  at  last  compelled  to  an  explicit  answer :  the  offered 
mediation  was  rejected,  and  it  was  declared  the  United 
States  would  under  no  circumstances  be  acknowledged  by 
England  as  independent.  Spain  at  once  ended  this  diplo 
matic  farce  (as  this  negotiation  became  before  its  close)  by 
a  declaration  that  she  would  seek  redress  of  her  wrongs  by 
arms,  and  England  issued  letters  of  marque  against  Spanish 
ships  and  subjects.  The  people  and  government^of  Spain, 
I  believe,  never  sympathized  with  the  Americans,  nor  did 
his  Most  Christian  Majesty  nor  his  cabinet,  while  their  cause 
was  heartily  espoused  by  all  classes  of  men  in  Paris  and  the 
chief  towns  of  France,  by  many  of  the  nobility,  and  the 
officers  of  her  navy  and  army,  especially  the  younger  of 
them,  eager,  as  was  to  be  expected  from  the  chivalric  spirit 
of  their  nation,  to  draw  their  swords  for  a  noble  people 
perilling  all  they  held  valuable  to  defend  their  liberty.  If 
a  prophet  had  whispered  to  the  cabinets  of  Versailles  and 
Madrid,  "With  your  aid  the  Anglo-Americans  will  triumph, 
but  in  no  long  time  after  they  take  place  among  the  nations, 
stimulated  by  their  success,  Frenchmen,  rising  in  might 
irresistible,  will  bury  in  one  common  ruin  their  monarchy, 
their  aristocracy,  and  their  church,  and  the  South  American 
subjects  of  Spain  throw  off  her  iron  yoke,"  not  a  livre  nor  a 
real  would  have  been  loaned  or  given,  a  ship  equipped,  nor 

*  We  cannot  but  smile  at  the  fatuity  of  their  statesmen,  who  hoped 
to  avert  evils  to  France  and  Spain  they  saw  to  be  probable,  but  not  in. 
their  magnitude,  by  a  few  strokes  of  the  pens  of  their  diplomatists. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  353 

a  soldier  embarked  to  aid  the  "  thirteen  colonies;"  and  if, 
this  aid  withheld,  their  subjugation  had  followed,  still  their 
independence  and  the  revolutions  of  France  and  the  colo 
nies  of  Spain  would  have  only  been  delayed  :  misgovernment 
would  have  continued  to  sow,  as  it  had  done  for  centuries, 
the  seeds  of  revolution  in  France,  and  each  year,  as  it 
passed  over  decrepit  Spain,  would  have  left  her  more  imbe 
cile  than  before,  while  commerce  would  more  and  more 
break  through  the  restrictions  she  imposed  upon  trade  and 
intercourse  with  foreigners,  which,  by  occluding  knowledge 
and  improvement,  maintained  her  despotic  rule  over  regions 
the  fairest  and  most  fertile  of  the  earth  ;  and  the  "  thirteen 
colonies"  would  have  retained  their  knowledge,  their  cour 
age,  their  energy,  their  enterprise,  and  their  unconquerable 
love  of  liberty,  with  a  vast  field  for  expansion. 

Notable  events  in  1779  were  the  unsuccessful  attack 
of  D'Estaing  and  Lincoln  upon  Savannah,  Sullivan's  success 
ful  inroad  upon  the  territory  of  the  Six  Nations  of  Indians, 
and  the  brilliant  surprises  of  Stony  Point  and  Powles 
Hook.*  At  the  close  of  this  year  Washington  withdrew 
his  army  from  the  field,  establishing  their  winter  quarters 
near  Morristown,  in  New  Jersey,  disheartened  indeed  by 
the  gloomy  prospects  in  the  Southern  States,  but  still  con 
fident  that  success  would  at  last  reward  the  toils  and  sacri 
fices  of  his  countrymen  for  independence. 

No  part  of  Mr.  Read's  correspondence  and  papers  of  the 
years  1780  and  1781  has  come  into  my  hands  of  impor 
tance,  except  a  writ  summoning  him  to  attend  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Delaware,  in  1780  (from  which  it  appears  he  was  a 
member  of  this  body  in  that  year),  and  the  following  let 
ter  of  General  Dickinson  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  2fth  April,  1781. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — T  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  friendly 
information. 

"  Will  not  the  recommendation  of  Congress  be  complied 
with  by  your  Legislature  ?  Unless  it  is  there  will  be  an  end 
to  all  confidence  between  man  and  man,  and  justice  totally 
excluded  from  this  western  world.  Why  did  your  wise 
Legislature  discriminate  between  former  contracts  made  in 

*  Diary  of  the  American  Revolution,  vol.  ii.  p.  209. 


354  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

specie  and  those  made  in  their  current  money  of  equal  value? 
I  detest  your  retrospective  laws, — they  are  full  of  injustice 
and  oppression. 

"Pray  endeavor,  at  your  next  sessions,  to  rectify  your 
past  errors, — compel  debtors,  at  least,  to  pay  their  interest 
annually  in  specie,  or  the  value  thereof,  and  secure  debts, 
according  to  their  real  value,  when  contracted.  This  you 
may  do  since  the  late  recommendation  of  Congress,  and  it 
is  your  duty. 

"  Mr.  Morris,  I  make  no  doubt,  will  accept  the  Superin 
tendence  of  Finance,  as  Congress  have  made  advances. 

"  It  is  believed  the  enemy  intend  a  movement  in  your 
bay.  If  a  French  fleet  is  actually  expected,  which  the  know 
ing  ones  say  is  the  case,  I  think  they  will  not  venture; 
General  Washington  is  of  opinion  they  will.  Accounts 
from  Europe  [are]  favorable :  England  cannot  form  alli 
ances,  Russia  continues  firm,  and  Holland  is  acting  with 
spirit. 

"  The  town,  at  present,  is  totally  engaged  with  Mr. 
M 's  trial, — when  it  will  end  God  knows. 

"  My  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read.  And  believe  me,  dear 
sir, 

"  Yours,  very  sincerely, 

"  PHILEMON  DICKINSON. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  winter  of  1780  was  intensely  cold,  and  the  American 
army  was  subjected  to  the  greatest  privations,  which  were 
borne  with  admirable  patience :  they  were  half  clothed,  ill  fed, 
and,  at  times,  on  the  verge  of  famine,  the  commissaries  being 
without  money  and  credit.  With  his  army  in  this  condition, 
Washington  could  not  avail  himself  of  the  favorable,  oppor 
tunity  afforded,  by  the  rivers  and  inlets  of  the  ocean  being 
bridged  with  ice,  to  attack  New  York.  Charleston  surren 
dered  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  12th  May,  1780.  The  defence  of 
this  city  was  ill  judged,  and  the  consequence  of  its  loss  the 
apparent  submission  of  South  Carolina  to  the  royal  au 
thority;  but  it  was  only  apparent.  The  British  com- 
mander-in-chief  soon  by  proclamation  required  her  inhab 
itants  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  their  king,  and 
render  all  service,  military  and  civil,  of  good  subjects. 
Then  the  South  Carolinians,  who  had  flattered  themselves 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  355 

with  the  hope  that  neutrality  would  have  been  permitted 
to  them,  learned  that  they  must  array  themselves  under 
the  ilag  of  their  country  or  the  banner  of  England ;  and  it 
was  soon  evident  which  would  be  their  choice.  In  March 
the  Maryland  and  Delaware  lines  were  ordered  to  South 
Carolina,  under  the  command  of  De  Kalb,  and  two  hundred 
South  Carolinians,  who  had  retired  to  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia,  were  emboldened  by  the  prospect  of  this  succor, 
and  of  aid  from  Virginia,  to  return,  under  Colonel  Sumpter, 
and  carry  on  a  guerilla  warfare,  and  their  example  was  fol 
lowed  in  other  parts  of  the  State.  De  Kalb  was  encamped, 
12th  July,  with  about  thirteen  hundred  soldiers,  at  Buffalo 
Ford,  on  Deep  River,  North  Carolina,  where  he  was  joined 
by  General  Gates,  appointed  to  command  the  Southern 
army,  with  the  belief  that  "  the  conqueror  of  Burgoyne 
would  be  the  savior  of  the  Southern  States."  From  this 
point,  by  a  road  through  a  barren  country,  injudiciously 
preferred  to  one  through  a  region  that  would  have  afforded 
supplies,  though  longer,  he  marched  his  troops,  who  suf 
fered  much,  to  Clermont,  in  South  Carolina,  having  been 
joined  by  the  North  Carolina  troops,  under  Caswell,  and 
the  Virginia  militia,  under  Stevens.  Lord  Cornwallis  was 
posted  at  Camden,  his  effective  force  being  about  two  thou 
sand  men ;  Gates  determined  to  advance  to  a  favorable  po 
sition,  about  seven  miles  from  that  town,  and  on  his  march, 
soon  after  two  A.M.,  was  encountered  by  Cornwallis,  who,  by 
a  strange  coincidence,  at  the  hour  Gates  moved  from  Cler 
mont  had  marched  to  attack  him  there.  The  battle  which 
ensued  terminated  disastrously  to  the  Americans,  who  were 
totally  defeated,  with  great  loss.  Among  the  wounded  and 
prisoners  was  the  gallant  De  Kalb,  who,  though  kindly 
treated,  died  soon  after  his  capture, — having  received  eleven 
wounds, — expressing,  with  his  dying  breath,  his  gratitude 
to  his  Continental  soldiers  for  keeping  their  ground,  even 
when  deserted  by  the  militia,  and  his  admiration  of  their 
courage,  particularly  that  of  the  Delaware  regiment.  Gloom 
again  enveloped  the  Southern  States,  where  all  seemed  lost. 
General  Washington  still  remained  with  the  American 
army  at  Morristown,  struggling  against  difficulties  to  which 
ordinary  patriotism  would  have  succumbed.  The  suffer 
ings  of  the  soldiers  were  now  so  great  there  was  reason  for 


356  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

fear  they  no  longer  could  bear  them.*  The  radical  defect 
in  the  administration  of  affairs  was  the  substitution  of  the 
State  for  the  national  system.  Before  soldiers  could  be 
raised  for  a  campaign,  or  provisions  provided  to  feed,  or 
money  to  pay  them,  requisition  must  be  made  upon  thirteen 
legislatures,  independent  of  each  other,  and  they  pass  the 
necessary  laws  to  meel;  them,  and  it  was  vain  to  expect  from 
thirteen  heads  the  unity,  promptitude,  and  vigor  of  one. 
Congress  should  have  been  clothed  with  power  to  raise  an 
adequate  army  for  the  war,  and  funds  necessary  for  its  prose 
cution,  in  gold  and  silver,  by  taxation.  This  body  met  the 
evils,  which  menaced  ruin,  by  resolves  that  the  army  should 
no  longer  be  supplied  by  purchases  of  commissaries,  but  the 
States  should  furnish  provisions,  forage,  and  spirituous 
liquors,  upon  requisitions  of  Congress,  specifying  the  ar 
ticles  to  be  supplied  at  places  convenient;  accounts  to  be 
opened  with  the  several  States  and  kept ;  the  articles  fur 
nished  to  be  estimated  in  specie,  and  final  settlements  and 
payments  of  balances  due,  in  Spanish  dollars,  promised.  As 
soon  as  this  new  scheme  was  broached,  Washington  saw 
and  forcibly  presented  its  defects.  Of  the  States,  part  might 
comply,  others  partially,  and  others  not  at  all ;  and  there 
was  the  further  provision  that  the  States  consenting  to  fur 
nish  their  quotas  might  prohibit  all  purchases  by  Conti 
nental  officers,  of  provisions  and  forage,  within  their  juris 
dictions, — it  followed,  if  they  did  so,  and  failed  to  send 
for warch their  promised  quotas,  the  army  might  be  starving 
and  Congress  without  power  to  relieve  it.  In  1779  Con 
gress  resolved  that  the  issue  of  Continental  bills  should  not 
exceed  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  This  amount  was 
reached,  and  some  new  financial  measure  must  be  devised; 
it  was  this :  the  States  were  required  to  raise  fifteen  mil 
lions  of  dollars  by  taxation,  and,  in  payment  of  this  tax, 
Continental  bills  were  made  receivable  at  the  rate  of  forty 
paper  dollars  for  one  of  silver,  and  in  lieu  of  these  bills, 
which  were  to  be  destroyed,  and  new  ones  w^ere  to  be  is 
sued  at  the  rate  of  one  for  every  twenty  of  them. 

*  Not  long  before  officers  had  applied  to  Washington  for  the  coarse 
clothing  of  the  common  soldiers  to  replace  their  worn-out  garments, 
and  he  could  not  furnish  it;  and  the  pay  of  a  major-general — so  much 
were  Continental  bills  depreciated — was  less  than  the  wages  of  an  ex 
press  rider,  and  the  subaltern's  pay  would  not  buy  him  his  shoes. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  357 

While  these  measures,  which  were  experiments,  were 
debated  by  thirteen  legislatures,  and  their  laws  to  give  them 
effect  were   tardily  passed,  months   elapsed,  the   military 
chest  remained  empty,  and  the  commander-in-chief  looked 
in  vain  for  the  promised  recruits.     The  discontent  of  the 
army  attained  a  fearful  height,  and  at  last  broke  out,  in 
two  regiments  of  the  Connecticut  line,  in  open  mutiny, 
which  was,  by  strenuous  efforts  of  their  officers,  quelled. 
Previously  the  rations,  never  more  than  six  days  in  ad 
vance,  failed  entirely,  and  the  commissaries  reported  that 
they  had  neither  money  nor  credit.     Nothing  remained  to 
Washington,  unless  he  left  his  soldiers  to  starve,  or  disperse 
in  quest  of  food,  but  to  procure  it  himself  by  impressment. 
Before  thijs  last  resort,  he  called  upon  the  magistrates  of 
New  Jersey  to  furnish  him  the  needed  supplies,  and,  to  the 
honor  of  this  State,  exhausted  by  having  been  so  often  the 
seat  of  war,  his  appeal  to  her  patriotism  was  not  in  vain. 
Supplies  were  promptly  furnished  by  her  citizens.     British 
emissaries  had  reported  to  General  Knyphausen  disaffection 
in  the  American  army  and  discontent  in  New  Jersey  so 
extensive  that  he  flattered  himself  if  he  marched  his  army 
there  promptly,  her  citizens  would  promptly  acknowledge  the 
royal  government  and  the  soldiers  of  Washington  desert 
their  country's  banner ;  and  accordingly,  June  6th,  he  landed 
at  ElizabethtoAvn  Point  with  five  thousand  men,  and  moved 
towards  Springfield.     Never  was  man  more  deceived  than 
the  German  commander.     The  New  Jersey  militia  turned 
out,  upon  the  order  of  their  governor,  without  delay,  and, 
with  parties  of  Continental  troops,  advanced  for  that  pur 
pose,  annoyed  the  British,  behaving  with  great  courage. 
General  Washington  had  posted  his  army  advantageously 
in  the  rear  of  Springfield,  and  there  awaited  the  enemy's 
attack ;  who,  disappointed  in  their  expectations,  after  tar 
nishing  the  honor  of  their  country  by  laying  waste  the 
beautiful  and  highly-cultivated   Connecticut  farms,  with 
drew  to  Elizabethtown  Point,  and  there  awaited  Sir  Henry 
Clinton,  who  reinforced  them,  June  18th,  with  his  troops 
from  South  Carolina,  and  took  the  command.     His  object 
was  the  destruction  of  the  stores  at  Morristown,  and  of  the 
American  army,  which  he  hoped  might  risk  a  battle  to 
protect  them.     Having  command  of  the  water,  he  could 
choose  his  point  of  attack  and  move  with  great  celerity  to 


358  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

it,  while  Washington  could  meet  his  attack,  wherever  made, 
by  occupying  such  a  position  as  to  be  able  to  advance  in 
time  to  the  point  assailed.  His  doubt  whether  Morristown 
or  West  Point  was  Clinton's  object  was  removed  by  his 
marching,  June  23d,  upon  the  former.  He  was  encountered, 
with  great  gallantry,  by  advanced  parties  of  the  Conti 
nentals,  under  Green,  detached  with  two  thousand  men  to 
cover  Springfield,  the  militia  acting  with  them  with  alacrity 
and  courage,  while  Green  occupied  a  strong  position  near 
Springfield,  to  cover  it.  The  British,  by  very  great  supe 
riority  of  numbers,  forced  the  American  detachments,  who 
disputed  the  ground  with  them  as  they  advanced,  to  fall 
back  upon  Green,  and  he,  being  so  numerically  inferior, 
could  not  quit  the  heights  he  held;  they  therefore  took 
possession  of  Springfield,  and,  adding  another  to  their  atro 
cious  acts  in  Jersey,  burnt  it,  and  then  retreated  and  passed 
to  Staten  Island,  their  commander  having  received  intelli 
gence  of  the  promised  succors  from  France,  and  unwilling, 
it  was  supposed,  on  that  account,  to  risk  the  weakening  of 
his  army  by  the  losses  probable  upon  further  operations. 
Lafayette,  so  deservedly  admired  and  loved  by  every 
American,  had,  in  1779,  on  leave  of  absence  from  Congress, 
revisited  France.  There  his  reception  was  enthusiastic,  for 
our  cause  was  warmly  espoused  by  his  countrymen  of  all 
ranks,  and  the  chivalrous  character  of  his  services  in 
America  had  awakened  the  admiration  of  the  generous, 
martial,  and  high-spirited  Frenchmen.  He  was  indefatiga 
ble  in  advocating  our  cause  with  the  French  government ; 
and  such  was  his  success  that  he  returned  in  the  spring  of 
1780  to  the  United  States  with  the  assurance  that  he  would 
be  speedily  followed  by  a  powerful  French  army  and  fleet. 
The  effect  was  electrical  upon  the  drowsy,  divided,  and 
hesitating  Congress  and  State  legislatures;  it  was  felt  that 
the  moment  was  come,  and  must  be  improved,  to  terminate 
successfully  the  war  for  independence,  and  measures  were 
adopted  by  both  suited  to  that  end.  In  July,  the  French 
fleet,  commanded  by  De  Ternay,  with  the  first  division  of 
the  promised  army,  under  Kochambeau,  arrived  at  Newport, 
Khode  Island.  General  Washington  soon  met  the  French 
general  and  admiral  at  Hartford,  Connecticut,  to  arrange  a 
joint  attack  of  the  French  and  American  forces  upon  the 
city  of  New  York,  which  he  had  resolved  on,  upon  the 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  359 

arrival  of  the  second  division  of  the  French  fleet  and  army. 
But  while  anxious  eyes  were  strained  to  catch  the  first 
glimpse  of  this  second  division,  whose  advent  was  to  give  that 
naval  superiority  upon  which  future  operations  depended, 
the  nation  was  astonished  by  the  announcement  of  the 
treason  of  one  of  the  bravest,  most  trusted,  and  popular  of 
their  generals.  Such  were  the  occurrences  which  defeated 
Arnold's  dark  plot,  when  almost  consummated,  that  they 
were  ascribed  to  Providence,  even  by  men  little  disposed  to 
admit  divine  interposition  in  human  affairs.  With  the 
facts  of  this  notable  event  all  are  familiar.  Indignation  and 
scorn  are  still  our  emotions  when  the  traitor's  name  meets 
our  eyes,  with  sorrow  for  the  fate  of  the  young,  the  brave, 
the  accomplished,  and  amiable  Andre,  and  we  still  entertain 
with  deep  interest  the  question  was  he  justly  sentenced  and 
executed  or  not,  because  it  involves  the  fame  of  Washington. 

Impartial  men,  even  in  England,  have  long  ago,  I  believe, 
admitted,  while  they  deplored,  the  justice  of  this  sentence 
and  the  necessity  for  its  execution.  Washington's  equa 
nimity  was  not  disturbed  by  the  bad  logic  and  poor  verses 
of  British  writers,  who  denounced  him  as  unjust  in  confirm 
ing  Andre's  sentence,  and  as  cruel  in  refusing  him  a  soldier's 
death.  Could  his  contemporaries  have  viewed  Andre's  case 
as  dispassionately  as  men  now  view  it,  a  monument  would 
not,  I  think,  have  been  decreed  him  in  that  august  temple 
where  the  most  illustrious  men  of  England  sleep  the  sleep 
that  knows  no  waking. 

The  expected  French  fleet  and  troops  (the  second  division) 
failed  to  arrive,  and  the  contemplated  attack  upon  New  York 
was  in  consequence  abandoned,  and  the  campaign  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  United  States  terminated  without  further 
active  operations.  The  armed  neutrality  and  the  declaration 
of  war  by  England  against  Holland  were  remarkable  events 
of  1780  abroad,  which  increased  the  hopes  of  the  Americans 
that  their  cause  would  triumph  :  while  "Congress  at  last 
adopted  two  resolutions,  long  and  vainly  recommended  by 
General  Washington  with  overwhelming  force  of  argument 
— the  one  for  the  enlistment  of  the  army  for  the  war,  and 
the  other  promising  half  pay  to  those  officers  who  should 
serve  till  its  termination.  Bitter  experience  had  opened 
the  eyes  of  Congress  to  the  evils  of  that  system  upon  which 
the  war  was  hitherto  conducted,  and  to  which  they  clung 
with  marvellous  obstinacy. 


360  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

The  British  ministry  and  nation  commenced  the  year 
1781  with  the  expectation  that  it  was  to  be  a  year  of  bril 
liant  triumphs  of  their  armies  in  America,  to  be  crowned 
by  the  restoration  of  the  royal  government, — at  least  in  the 
Southern  colonies.  There  had  been  ignorance  of  the  true 
state  of  affairs  in  America.  Successes  had  been  over  magni 
fied,  and  the  results  of  defeats  underrated;  but  from  the 
capture  of  Charleston  and  submission  of  South  Carolina  the 
conclusion  was  not  rash  nor  unreasonable  that  the  rebellion 
was  almost  extinguished  in  that  colony  and  the  territories 
adjacent  to  it.  Hope,  almost  extinct,  was  revived  in  the 
disheartened  Whigs  by  the  defeat  of  the  Loyalists  in  Oc 
tober,  1780,  at  King's  Mountain,  and  was  increased  when 
Gates,  before  the  year  closed,  was  superseded  by  Green  in 
the  command  of  the  Southern  army.  Manifesting  at  the 
outset  of  our  Revolutionary  war  great  military  talent  and 
fondness  for  the  vocation  of  the  soldier,  under  circumstances 
that  could  riot  have  produced  or  fostered  them,  Green,  like 
the  great  painter  West,  is  one  of  many  examples  of  natural 
aptitude  for  one  profession  or  pursuit  above  all  others.  The 
subsequent  campaign,  in  which  he  displayed  so  much  genius, 
was  a  winter  one,  in  a  country  sparsely  inhabited,  devas 
tated  by  civil  war,  intersected  by  numerous  rivers  and 
streams,  broad  and  deep,  and  sometimes  rapid,  over  roads 
always  bad,  and  sometimes  impassable,  his  supplies — never 
abundant — obtained  with  difficulty,  his  regulars  a  handful, 
his  militia  brave,  but  with  all  the  defects  of  that  class  of 
troops,  and  opposed  to  him  a  general  of  ability,  vigor,  and 
enterprise.  The  reader  of  the  history  of  this  campaign  is 
surprised  at  the  smallness  of  the  contending  armies.  The 
English  army  was  small  because  the  delusive  expectation 
was  still  entertained  that  the  royalists  were  the  majority, 
and  that  America  would  be  conquered  by  Americans.  The 
Whigs  were  elated  by  the  brilliant  success  of  Morgan  at  the 
Cowpens  over  Tarleton,  whose  cruelty  was,  unhappily  for 
his  fame,  as  conspicuous  as  his  ability  and  bravery.  Then 
succeeded  those  marches  and  manoeuvres  of  the  contending 
generals,  in  which  they  showed  themselves  worthy  to  com 
mand.  Green  endeavored  to  cover  the  theatre  of  operations 
as  far  as  possible  from  the  enemy,  to  rouse  and  encourage 
his  countrymen,  and  to  avoid  fighting  at  disadvantage.  But 
in  March  (the  15th  day),  emboldened  by  the  increase  of  his 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  361 

force,  and  aware  that  the  militia — the  chief  part  of  it — 
could  not  be  long  retained,  having  been  called  out  for  short 
periods,  Green  sought  the  enemy  and  gave  him  battle  at 
Guilford,  and  was  defeated,  the  British,  inferior  in  numbers, 
having  been  indebted  for  their  success  to  the  superiority  of 
their  disciplined  over  .Green's  undisciplined  soldiers,  the 
major  portion  of  his  army.  The  British  behaved  with 
great  bravery,  and  the  Continental  soldiers  emulated  and 
equalled  them.  Cornwallis  kept  the  field,  but  his  victory 
was  barren  of  advantage  while  his  loss  of  men  was  great 
and  could  not  be  repaired.  So  far  from  b^ing  able  to  follow 
up  his  success,  he  was  unable  to  maintain  his  position,  and 
forced  to  retreat  to  Wilmington,  in  North  Carolina.  Against 
that  post,  where  the  British  vessels  of  war  and  army  could 
co-operate,  Green  could  not  operate  with  any  hope  of  suc 
cess,  and  sagaciously  and  boldly  he  changed  the  seat  of  war 
to  South  Carolina.  If  Cornwallis  followed  him,  he  must 
abandon  North  Carolina  to  the  Whigs ;  and  if  he  did  not. 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  would  be  recovered  by  the 
American  arms.  Cornwallis  determined  to  march  into 
Virginia  and  unite  his  troops  with  the  British  army,  which 
had  landed  in  that  State,  under  the  traitor  Arnold,  and  was 
commanded  by  General  Phillips.  Then  succeeded  the  cam 
paign  in  Virginia,  in  which,  notwithstanding  the  skill  and 
enterprise  of  Cornwallis,  the  "boy"  Lafayette  outmanoeuvred 
and  eluded  him.  Washington,  convinced  that  he  would 
not  be  sufficiently  reinforced  in  season  to  execute  his  long- 
formed  and  cherished  plan  of  attacking  New  York,  deter 
mined  to  close  the  war,  as  he  hoped,  by  the  combined 
movement  of  the  American  and  French  armies  against  Lord 
Cornwallis.  Having  succeeded  in  deceiving  Clinton  into 
the  belief  that  New  York  was  his  object,  until  it  was  too 
late  for  him  to  reinforce  Cornwallis,  Washington  invested 
York  by  sea  and  land,  in  September,  and  it  was  surrendered, 
19th  day  of  October,  1781.  General  Green  had  in  the  mean 
time  been  carrying  on  operations  in  South  Carolina  against 
the  British  army,  which  was  under  the  command  of  Lord 
Rawdon,  until  he  was  compelled  by  ill  health  to  relinquish 
it  to  Lieutenant-Colonel  Stewart.  The  extent  of  country 
occupied  by  the  British  exposed  them  to  attacks  at  many 
points,  and  Green  kept  them  in  alarm  by  his  activity.  He 
lost  the  battle  of  Hobkirk  Hill,  was  forced  to  raise  the  siege 

24 


362  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

of"  Ninety-Six,"  and  gained  the  victory  of  Eutaw;  and  very 
soon  afterwards  the  British  confined  themselves  to  the  sea- 
coast,  as  if  in  despair  of  conquering  the  interior  country. 
General  Green's  conduct  of  the  campaign  in  the  Southern 
States  was  above  all  praise,  for  the  seat  of  war  when  he 
entered  it  was  a  conquered  territory,  its  inhabitants,  as 
Whigs  and  Tories,  almost  equally  divided,  and  his  Conti 
nental  troops,  never  over  two  thousand  in  number,  were 
many  of  them  raw  and  undisciplined ;  yet  such  was  his 
judgment,  courage,  and  enterprise  that  he  recovered  the 
Southern  States. 

With  the  surrender  of  the  British  army  at  Yorktown  the 
contest  by  arms  was  terminated,  though  the  war  nominally 
continued.  The  year  I  am  entering  upon  was  one  of  ne 
gotiation,  but  not  without  peril  to  America,  from  the  selfish 
intrigues  of  France  and  Spain  to  limit  the  concessions  Eng 
land  was  willing  to  make,  both  as  to  the  boundaries  and 
fisheries.  Mr.  Read  was  again  resident  with  his  family  in 
New  Castle,  with  a  large  and  increasing  practice  as  a  law 
yer,  to  which  he  did  not,  however,  give  his  undivided  atten 
tion,  for  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  General  Assembly  of 
Delaware. 

He  wrote  to  his  friend  Mr.  Dickinson  as  follows  from 

"NEW  CASTLE,  March  10th,  1782. 

"  SIR, — I  was  truly  sorry  to  be  informed  of  your  late 
indisposition,  by  your  favor  of  the  1st  inst.  I  did  not  see 
Colonel  Pope  on  his  return  from  you,  but  shall  use  every 
opportunity  to  press  a  collection  of  the  taxes,  to  enable  him 
to  comply  with  the  contract  for  the  armed  vessel.  What 
may  be  expected  I  will  not  venture  to  conjecture.  If  a  few 
of  the  leading  characters  in  our  several  counties  were  en 
dued  with  but  a  moderate  share  of  public  spirit,  they  might 
aid  government  much,  but  a  listlessness  of  conduct  prevails 
too  much  among  them.  Time  and  example  may  amend 
the  defect. 

"You  hint  the  want  of  a  secretary,  whom  you  ought  and 
must  have  constantly  attendant  upon  you.  The  time  has 
now  come  when  it  is  in  your  power  to  fix  this  appointment 
as  you  think  fit.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  it  not  in  idea 
but  that  a  person  filling  an  office  merely  ministerial  should 
so  arrange  that  he  may  be  ready  at  all  seasonable  times  to 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  363 

perform  the  duties  thereof.  President  McKinley,  when  he 
appointed  the  present  secretary,  did  add  the  collector's 
office  to  the  appointment,  the  perquisites  of  which  were  not, 
and  are  not,  by  any  means  sufficient  alone  to  induce  any 
one  fit  or  worthy  of  the  trust  to  perform  the  duties  of  it. 
The  Legislature  have  never  taken  up  this  business  as  they 
ought  to  have  done,  though  heretofore  privately  complained 
of  by  President  Rodney;  but  it  ought  to  be  done  the  first 
opportunity,  and  probably  would  upon  your  representation 
and  a  vacancy  of  the  appointment.  Your  secretary  de 
livered  your  '  address'  to  the  members  of  Assembly  of  this 
county,  respecting  the  militia,  to  every  of  whom  I  trans 
mitted  a  copy,  and  I  have  shown  the  original  to  such  officers 
as  I  have  since  seen. 

"  Mr.  Sykes,  the  bearer  of  this,  says  he  waits  upon  you 
in  expectation  of  a  reappointment  to  the  offices  he  has  held 
in  Kent,  and  has  more  than  once  heretofore  wished  me  to 
further  his  pretensions.  My  answer  has  been  that  it  was  a 
point  of  delicacy,  and  that  each  man's  recommendation 
ought  to  be  his  fitness  and  ability,  and  that  with  respect  to 
him,  from  your  long  knowledge  you  were  a  competent 
judge  of  both;  and  having  said  thus  much  as  to  a  business 
which  at  all  times  past  I  have  carefully  avoided  interfering 
in,  I  must  beg  your  excuse.  I  suppose  my  early  acquaint 
ance  with  him,  and  some  share  of  intimacy  in  consequence 
thereof,  has  induced  him  to  press  this  upon  me.  I  believe 
it  is  true  that  the  offices  for  the  past  term  have  produced 
little  or  no  profit,  from  the  circumstances  of  times. 

"  I  shall  have  a  pleasure  in  knowing  that  you  are  per 
fectly  restored  to  your  health.  I  hope  you  will  have  it  in 
your  power,  with  convenience  to  Mrs.  Dickinson  and  Miss 
Sally,  to  bring  them  on  the  intended  tour  to  this  place  in 
the  course  of  this  month :  our  supreme  courts  begin  on  the 
second  Tuesday  in  the  next.  Mrs.  Read  and  our  two 
Misses  present  their  compliments,  and  I  am,  with  -much 
respect  and  esteem, 

"Your  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  His  Excellency  JOHN  DICKINSON." 

Mr.  Dickinson  thus  wrote  : 


364  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"May  15th,  1T82. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  should  be  glad  to  know  on  what  day  you 
intend  to  set  off  from  New  Castle  for  the  General  Assembly. 
I  expect  to  be  timely  enough  if  I  call  upon  you  on  the  last 
day  of  this  month,  or  even  the  2d  of  the  next.  Mrs.  Dick 
inson  and  Sally  present  their  affectionate  compliments  to 
you,  Mrs.  Read,  and  the  family.  Please  to  present  mine 
too. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  very  affectionate 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  letter  next  inserted  is  unimportant,  but  brings  Mr. 
Read  before  the  reader,  as  he  was  at  this  time  in  the  exten 
sive  practice  of  the  law,  and  exhibits  fairness,  frankness, 
and  comity,  which  no  doubt  Mr.  Read  reciprocated,  and 
which  then  characterized,  and  I  am  happy  to  believe  still 
characterize,  gentlemen  of  the  legal  profession.  Mr.  Bas- 
sett,  the  writer  of  this  letter,  was  a  member  of  the  United 
States  Senate,  as  were  his  son-in-law,  James  A.  Bayard,  and 
two  of  the  sons  of  that  eminent  statesman  and  lawyer,  and 
now  (1870)  his  grandson,  the  Hon.  T.  F.  Bayard.  I  am 
not  aware  that  any  other  family  has  furnished  so  many 
members  of  this  body. 

"  SIR, — I  have  had  neither  time  nor  opportunity  since  I 
received  yours  of  the  27th  of  April  to  give  you  an  answer, 
but  hope  the  delay  will  occasion  you  no  uneasiness  or 
trouble.  With  respect  to  the  cause  of  Campbell  and  Ed 
wards,  in  your  court,  I  must  acknowledge  your  past  indul 
gence  and  favor.  At  the  time  I  engaged  in  that  cause  I 
then  expected  to  have  attended  your  court  regularly,  other 
wise  should  not  have  been  concerned ;  but  time  and  circum 
stances  have  determined  otherwise.  My  client  still  con 
tends  for  the  equitable  circumstances  heretofore  mentioned 
to  you;  therefore,  as  it  is  out  of  my  power  to  attend  your 
court  at  this  term  (being  obliged  to  attend  Caroline  Court, 
adjourned  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  their  docket),  should 
be  glad  your  client  would  agree  to  a  reference  of  the  cause. 
I  have  no  objection  that  Mr.  George  Ward,  who  is  witness 
in  the  cause  on  the  part  of  the  plaintiff,  should  be  one  of 
the  referees ;  and  if  the  circumstances  turn  out  as  mentioned 


OF  GEOEGE    READ.  365 

in  your  letter,  no  doubt  the  report  must  be  in  favor  of  your 
client.  It  would  seem  to  me  your  client,  if  he  means  fairly, 
cannot  object  to  this  proposal.  It  is  not  my  wish  or  desire 
to  delay  this  business,  but  if  Mr.  Campbell  will  not  consent 
to  the  above  proposal,  and  you  can  consistently  agree  that 
upon  the  general  issue,  with  leave  being  entered  on  the 
docket,  I  may  inquire  into  the  consideration  of  the  bond, 
please  to  have  it  so  entered  when  you  go  over  your  docket, 
and  you  may  rely  on  it,  if  life  and  health  permit,  you  shall 
have  a  hearing  at  August,  or  judgment;  otherwise,  in  order 
to  do  my  client  justice,  from  his  own  story,  I  shall  be  under 
the  necessity  of  filing  a  bill  in  chancery,  as  heretofore  ob 
served,  which  I  most  sincerely  wish  to  avoid.  Having  thus 
said,  I  must  leave  the  matter  with  you,  to  do  or  not  do  as 
to  you  shall  seem  meet  and  right.  We  have  had  no  court 
of  common  pleas  here  to  do  business,  on  account  of  the 
small-pox  in  Dover.  My  client,  Mr.  Pearce,  was  up  yester 
day.  I  informed  him  of  your  state[ment]  of  the  case.  He 
says  your  client  has  misinformed  you,  which  he  is  able  to 
make  out  by  indubitable  testimony.  I  proposed  to  him  a 
reference ;  to  which  he  answered  he  would  be  perfectly  satis 
fied  to  leave  it  to  any  gentlemen  in  or  near  the  Cross-Roads 
that  were  disinterested.  Therefore,  sir,  if  you  please,  if  any 
opportunity  offers,  give  your  client  this  information  shortly, 
and  if  he  is  willing,  let  him  so  inform  me,  and  I  will  get 
Mr.  Pearce  to  come  up  again  and  put  an  end  to  this  busi 
ness  at  once.  I  informed  Mr.  Tilghman,  agreeably  to  your 
letter,  respecting  the  cause  of  Allix's  Lessee  vs.  Haines  and 
Foreman,  and  should  have  removed  it  if  the  court  had  set 
to  do  business.  The  court  stands  adjourned  to  the  22d  of 
July  next,  at  which  time,  unless  your  orders  are  counter 
manded,  I  shall  not  fail  to  remove  it.  My  compliments  to 
Mrs.  Read  and  family. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  humble  servant, 

"RICHARD  BASSETT. 
"May  16th,  1782." 

Mr.  Read  considered  it  expedient  that  his  son  George* 

*  An  eminent  member  of  the  Delaware  bar  and  first  U.  S.  Attorney 
of  th.e  District  of  Delaware,  appointed  by  Washington,  and  which  office 
he  held  till  the  Presidency  of  James  Monroe,  when  he  resigned  it  and 
was  succeeded  by  his  son,  distinguished  as  a  lawyer  and  speaker. 


366  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

should  study  the  Law  in  Philadelphia,  and  desired  to  place 
him  in  the  family  and  office  of  James  Wilson,  a  signer  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  Judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  and  requested  that  he  might  be 
so  received.  Mr.  Wilson  communicated  his  decision  upon 
Mr.  Read's  request  as  follows : 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  have  been  favored  with  your  letter  by 
your  son.  Mrs.  Wilson  and  I  feel  a  strong  inclination  to 
gratify  you  by  receiving  him  as  one  of  the  family ;  but  we 
have  been  so  often  obliged  to  refuse  pressing  instances  of 
this  kind  that  we  cannot,  with  any  degree  of  propriety, 
comply  with  your  request.  If  your  son  can  find  it  con 
venient  to  lodge  in  any  other  place,  I  will  with  pleasure 
receive  him  into  my  office,  though  I  have  lately  declined 
some  applications  of  the  same  nature.  The  fee  is  one  hun 
dred  guineas. 

"  Mrs.  Wilson  has  been  so  much  indisposed  since  your  son 
came  to  town  that  she  has  not  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
him.  She  begs  her  best  compliments  to  Mrs.  Read.  Please 
to  add  mine. 

"  I  am,  with  much  esteem,  dear  sir,  your  obedient,  hum 
ble  servant, 

"JAMES  WILSON. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  7th  May,  1782." 

President  Dickinson  wrote  again  to  Mr.  Read  as  follows, 
upon  the  subject,  principally,  of  the  meeting  of  the  Legis 
lature  of  Delaware,  about  which  he  was  anxious : 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  have  written  to  the  Secretary  to  make  out 
commissions  to  Mr.  Kollock  for  the  two  offices  he  now 
holds. 

"  I  am  informed  that  there  is  some  apprehension  that  the 
General  Assembly  will  not  meet,  on  account  of  the  small 
pox  being  in  Dover.  I  shall  be  very  sorry  if  this  happens 
to  be  the  case,  and  therefore  I  send  a  letter  by  Mr.  Kollock 
to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  desiring  them  to 
meet,  if  it  is  only  to  adjourn  to  some  more  convenient  place, 
as  the  present  situation  of  public  affairs  absolutely  requires 
a  session.  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  please  to 
favor  me  with  your  opinion  respecting  my  power  to  convene 
the  Legislature  after  the  time  to  which  they  stand  ad- 


OF  GEORGE  BEAD.  367 

journed,  and  at  a  place  different  from  that  to  which  they 
stood  last  adjourned,  if  there  should  be  a  failure  of  meeting 
at  such  time  and  place.  Please  to  inform  me,  too,  if  any 
law  of  the  State  has  touched  upon  this  subject.  I  should 
suppose,  in  the  case  stated,  and  the  public  welfare  requiring 
a  meeting,  it  might  be  proper,  at  least  on  an  application 
from  a  majority  of  each  House,  to  call  the  Legislature 
together. 

"  I  am  exceedingly  happy  to  inform  you  that  t*he  news 
by  which  we  have  been  lately  distressed,  of  the  French 
fleet  being  defeated  by  the  British,  is  so  directly  and  au 
thentically  contradicted  that  the  first  intelligence  is  utterly 
discredited  here.  I  believe  you  may  depend  upon  it  that 
our  enemies  were  as  much  hurt  as  our  friends,  and  that  the 
latter  are  proceeding  in  their  enterprise  against  Jamaica, 
which  will  probably  fall  into  their  hands. 

"  We  have  advices,  which  are  thought  credible,  that  the 
island  of  Providence  has  submitted, — the  fortifications  and 
houses  destroyed,  and  all  the  inhabitants  removed. 

"  There  is  some  reason  to  think  that  a  squadron  of  six 
line-of-battle  ships  and  some  frigates  of  our  good  ally  will 
soon  be  on  our  coast. 

"  Mrs.  Dickinson  and  Sally  present  their  affectionate 
compliments  to  your  family.  Be  pleased  to  add  mine. 

"  I  am,  sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  very  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"May  24th,  1782. 

"  Captain  Barry  is  arrived  in  the  Alliance,  at  New  Lon 
don.  The  Marquis  de  Lafayette  is  coming  in  a  vessel  that 
will  protect  him  from  the  whole  force  in  our  bay. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  report  of  the  defeat  of  De  Grasse,  mentioned  by  Mr. 
Dickinson  in  his  foregoing  letter,  was  premature,  and  the 
indecisive  battle  of  which  authentic  intelligence  had  ar 
rived,  was  that  of  April  9th.  De  Grasse,  however,  before 
the  date  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  letter,  had  been  defeated  totally 
by  Rodney,  April  12th,  and  it  seems,  as  has  often  happened, 
the  coming  disaster  cast  its  shadow  before. 

Mr.  Dickinson  again  wrote  to  Mr.  Read  upon  the  chief 
subject  of  his  last  letter : 


368  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"May  31st,  1182. 

"  DEAR  SIR.  —  I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  letter 
by  Mr.  Carman.  I  entreat  you  to  use  all  your  influence  to 
procure  a  meeting  as  soon  as  possible,  at  Dover,  if  the 
members  only  come  together  for  five  minutes,  for  making  an 
adjournment  to  some  other  place.  A  session  is  more  neces 
sary  than  I  can  express. 

"  I  arn  engaged  here  in  business  of  importance  to  the 
State,  and  shall  wait  till  I  receive  intelligence,  which  I  beg 
you  to  assist  in  conveying  to  me,  that  the  Houses  are  met 
or  will  certainly  meet  at  a  particular  day. 

*'  I  am,  sir,  your  most  affectionate,  humble  servant, 

"JoriN  DICKINSON. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  delinquencies  of  the  sheriffs  of  New  Castle  County, 
mentioned  in  the  following  letter  of  Mr.  Read,  may  have 
been  produced  by  the  embarrassed  condition  of  business, 
from  the  depreciated  currency  and  other  causes  : 


CASTLE,  17th  September,  1782. 

"  SIR,  —  I  received  yours,  inclosing  two  bonds  of  Mr. 
Norris's  upon  which  execution  had  been  issued,  —  that  of 
Duff's  to  John  Thompson,  then  sheriff,  to  whom  I  delivered 
a  state[ment]  of  principal  and  interest,  with  a  request  of  a 
speedy  settlement  thereof,  —  this  being  at  our  last  court,  — 
I  got  no  answer  since.  The  other,  of  See's,  had  issued  to 
John  Clark,  since  dead,  and  for  the  settlement  of  this  busi 
ness  there  is  none  other  than  his  administrators,  a  widow 
and  brother,  very  incapable  thereof.  I  applied  to  the  under- 
sheriff  who  was  then  in  office,  who,  upon  inquiry,  since 
says  that  See  had  sold  his  effects  and  was  moving  off;  but, 
meeting  some  of  the  purchasers  who  had  not  paid  him,  he 
gave  them  notice  of  the  late  sheriff's  claim  on  the  goods  ; 
he  knows  not  what  it  may  produce.  I  have  a  number  of 
executions  yet  unsettled  with  Sheriffs  Duff,  who  went  out 
of  office  in  1772;  Thompson,  in  1775;  Clark,  in  1779;  and 
the  present  Smith,  whose  time  ends  at  the  ensuing  election; 
and  I  have  found  it  hitherto  impracticable  to  get  anything 
done.  I  will  do  what  I  can  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Norris,  but 
I  suspect  it  will  not  be  speedily  accomplished. 

"  I  think  you  told  me  once  that  you  could  procure  me  a 


OF  GEOBGE  READ.  369 

'  Collection  of  the  Several  Systems  or  Forms  of  Government 
adopted  by  the  American  States  '  I  believe  Congress  had 
them  printed  and  bound.  (I  take  the  liberty  of  reminding 
you  of  this.)* 

"  Miss  Jones  and  my  daughter  beg  their  compliments  to 
your  lady  and  Miss  Sally.  Mrs.  Read  will  present  her  own 
in  the  course  of  this  week,  as  she  sets  out  from  hence  this 
day,  with  Parson  Thompson,  of  Maryland,  for  Philadelphia. 
And  I  am,  with  much  esteem  and  respect,  your  most  obe 
dient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"  His  Excellency  JOHN  DICKINSON, 

"  President  of  the  Delaware  State." 

The  cloud  which  rested,  for  a  time,  on  the  able  vindica 
tor  of  American  rights  in  the  celebrated  "  Farmers'  Letters," 
was  now  lifted,  to  the  surprise  and  mortification  of  his 
enemies,  and  the  joy  of  his  friends.  Mr.  Wharton,  in  com 
municating,  and  Mr.  Read,  in  receiving,  by  the  following 
letter,  intelligence  of  John  Dickinson's  election  to  the  su 
preme  magistracy  of  Pennsylvania,  shared  this  joy,  and 
probably  felt  it  more  than  others,  because  their  friendship 
for  him,  and  of  each  of  them  all  for  the  others,  through  their 
youth,  manhood,  and  old  age  was  unusually  strong  and 
warm,  as  is  shown  by  their  correspondence. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  November  10th,  1182. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — By  Mr.  Grantham  I  send  you  a  bundle  of 
newspapers,  besides  what  is  contained  in  this  letter.  By  those 
of  the  later  date  you  will  perceive  the  alarm  sounded,  through 
these  vehicles  of  abuse,  against  our  old  friend.  But,  to  the 
keen  mortification  of  the  opposing  party,  he  was  elected  Presi 
dent  and  General  Evving  Vice-President, — a  worthy  and 
intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Dickinson, — versus  General  Potter. 


*  I  have  in  my  possession  a  small  volume  of  226  pages,  entitled 
"  The  Constitutions  of  the  Several  Independent  States  of  America,  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  between 
the  said  States,  and  the  Treaties  between  his  Most  Christian  Majesty 
and  the  United  States  of  America.  Published  by  order  of  Congress. 
Philadelphia:  printed  by  Francis  Bailey,  in  Market' Street.  1781." 
On -the  title-page  of  this  volume  is  written,  "John  Dickinson  to  his 
friend  George  Read,  Esquire." 


370  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENGE 

I  never  have  known  so  general  a  joy  diffused  among  all  ranks 
of  the  people  as  was  exhibited  on  this  choice  of  our  early  asso 
ciate.  The  procession  from  the  State  [House]  to  the  Court 
house  was  very  numerous  and  respectable,  and  there  the 
people  manifested  their  felicity  by  affectionate  and  repeated 
acclamations.  The  gentlemen  who  opposed  Mr.  Dickinson 
are  low-spirited,  and  are  afraid  something  effectual  will  be 
done  to  establish  his  reputation  and  that  of  the  present  As 
sembly.  Your  former  neighbor  was  deep  in  the  politics 
[of  this  opposition],  but  has  a  certain  versatility  about  him 
that  accommodates  [him]  to  the  powers  in  being.  He  asked 
your  other  old  friend  to  accompany  him,  after  the  proces 
sion  was  over,  to  Mr.  D 's,  for  the  purpose  of  congratu 
lating  him  [on  his  election],  etc.;  and  crowds  of  other 
citizens  are  daily  doing  the  same.  What  will  be  done  by 
the  State  of  Delaware  in  respect  of  their  President  I  am 
ignorant  of,  but  he  tells  me  we  shall  see  in  the  next  news 
papers  what  he  said  to  the  Assembly  here  in  relation  to 
this  matter.* 

"  Congress  has  ordered  Captain  Asgill  to  be  liberated.f 
This  was  done  in  consequence  of  letters  from  General 
Washington,  by  which  it  was  obvious  this  was  his  wish, 
and  from  a  letter  he  received  from  Count  de  Yergennes, 
expressing  an  earnest  desire  from  the  king  and  queen  of 
France,  who  had  been  prevailed  upon  to  intercede  in  be 
half  of  Captain  Asgill. 

"  The  mother  of  this  gentleman  wrote  to  the  Count  de 
Yergennes  one  of  the  most  pathetic  letters  I  ever  read. 
Although  Congress  has  freed  Asgill  from  his  confinement,  yet 
they  have  instructed  the  commander-in-chief  to  inform  Sir 
Guy  Carlton,  in  the  most  pointed  terms,  that  they  rely  upon 
his  promise  of  making  strict  inquisition  after  the  murderer 
of  Captain  Huddy ;  and,  in  order  to  prevent  all  further  ap 
plications  to  them  from  any  persons,  they  have  resolved 
that,  in  case  the  enemy  shall  commit  any  actions  contrary 
to  the  law  of  nations,  the  commander-in-chief,  or  the  gen 
eral  who  may  command  in  the  Southern  department,  after 
retribution  has  been  demanded  by  them  or  either  of  them, 


*  He  was  President  of  Delaware  when  elected  to  the  Presidency  of 
Pennsylvania. 

f  Writings  of  Washington,  vol.  viii.  pp.  303-305,  361,  3G2. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  371 

and  justice  refused  or  delayed  beyond  the  time  limited  in 
their  requisition,  shall  have  authority  to  execute  retali 
ation.  This  will  make  the  enemy  very  cautious  in  their 
future  proceedings,  and  there  will  not  be  reliance,  as  here 
tofore,  upon  the  various  opinions  of  a  large  deliberative 
body. 

"  No  news  from  Europe,  since  I  wrote  you  last,  except 
what  you  will  find  in  the  within  papers,  under  the  New 
York  head,  upon  which  we  place  no  dependence.  The 
siege  of  Gibraltar,  and  the  expected  conflict  between  the 
British  and  combined  fleets,  engrosses  all  our  attention ;  if 
the  event  should  be  favorable  to  the  two  branches  of  the 
House  of  Bourbon,  or  the  English  should  be  much  worsted  in 
the  East  Indies,  a  general  pacification  will  most  probably  take 
place  next  spring  or  summer.  Count  Rochambeau's  army  (I 
mention  this  in  confidence, — not  to  be  repeated)  will,  we 
have  reason  to  think,  embark  for  the  West  Indies.  As  to 
South  Carolina  we  can  say  nothing,  as  Congress  has  received 
no  late  letters  from  thence ;  but  it  is  alleged  that  part  of 
the  garrison  of  Charleston  has  embarked,  etc. — see  the  last 
newspaper.  I  have  not  yet  received  the  law  you  wrote  for; 
President  Boudinot  has  again  written  to  the  printer  for  it. 
I  wait  for  the  index  of  1779,  which  is  not  yet  finished,  other 
wise  I  would  send  you  a  complete  set  of  the  Journals  of 
Congress.  Will  you  wait  for  the  index,  or  shall  I  despatch 
the  Journals  without  it?  You  can  exchange  the  volume 
of  1779  for  one,  when  it  is  printed,  with  the  index.  Mrs. 
Wharton  is  getting  better;  she  and  my  children  join  me  in 
affectionate  regards  to  Mrs.  Read,  yourself,  and  children. 
Adieu. 

"  Yours,  very  sincerely, 

"S.  WHARTON. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

The  writer  of  the  graceful  and  sprightly  letter  which 
follows  next  was  the  wife  of  Captain  Thomas  Read,  and 
widow  of  Mr.  Field,  of  New  Jersey ;  her  daughter  by  him 
was  the  wife  of  the  eminent  lawyer  and  United  States 
Senator  from  New  Jersey,  Richard  Stockton.  When  a 
youth,  at  Princeton  College,  I  received  a  good  deal  of  notice 
from  her,  confined  as  she  was,  by  the  infirmities  of  age,  to 


372  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

her  chamber  in  Mr.  Stockton's  house,  where  she  resided. 
She  was  a  lady  of  great  intelligence,  and  an  intimate  friend 
of  President  Samuel  Stanhope  Smith. 

'-  MY  DEAR  SIR, — After  having  been  honored  with  your 
several  favors,  and  distinguished  by  your  friendly  polite 
ness,  I  blush  at  the  idea  of  having  so  long  neglected 
assuming  my  pen  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  them.  I 
am  fearful  I  have  subjected  myself,  in  your  opinion,  to  the 
censure  of  insensibility  and  ingratitude,  of  which,  I  grant, 
you  had  too  much  reason  to  suspect  me,  though  I  hope 
they  are  both  strangers  to  my  heart.  An  habitual  negli 
gence,  which  I  have  indulged  for  some  time  past,  and  which 
has  gained  such  an  ascendency  over  me  as  to  be  almost 
constitutional,  is  the  poor  excuse  I  have  to  offer  for  having 
till  this  day  deferred  assuring  my  dear  Mr.  Read  that  I  feel 
myself  impressed  with  sentiments  of  the  highest  respect 
and  esteem  for  him,  and  that,  great  as  my  disappointment 
is  in  not  seeing  him  and  Mrs.  Read  in  Philadelphia,  I  find 
my  concern  increased  by  the  cause — your  attachment  to 
New  Castle — as  I  am  apprehensive  this  fondness  will  in 
crease  with  your  years,  and  destroy  all  hope  of  our  seeing 
you  here ;  but,  be  it  as  it  may,  you  may  depend  my  best 
wishes,  however  inefficacious  they  may  be,  will  ever  attend 
you.  With  my  love  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  your  fireside, 
believe  me  to  be,  dear  sir, 

"Yours,  with  affection, 

aM.  READ. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  November  10th,  1782. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Dickinson,  resident  in  Philadelphia,  though  President 
of  Delaware,  commends  to  Mr.  Read's  good  offices  the 
French  officer,  bearer  of  his  letter  written  from  that  city. 

"November  22d,  1782. 

"  SIR, — This  letter  will  be  delivered  to  you  by  a  gentleman 
who  is  called,  I  think,  Mr.  Colls.  His  post  in  the  French 
army  resembles  that  of  quartermaster-general  in  our  ser 
vice.  His  business  in  the  Delaware  State  is  to  make  proper 
arrangements  for  the  reception  of  the  Duke  de  la  Lauzune's 
Legion  at  Wilmington,  where  they  are  to  winter. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  373 

"I  beg  leave  to  recommend  the  gentleman  and  the  affair 
to  you,  sir,  in  the  strongest  sense,  and  hope  he  will  receive 
from  every  person  that  assistance  which,  from  every  con 
sideration,  there  must  be  pleasure  in  rendering. 

"I  am,  with  great  esteem,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and 
humble  servant, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  style  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  letters  is  felicitous, — always 
easy,  elegant,  and  unstudied, — it  is  often  graceful  and 
sprightly.  Judging  him  by  his  letters,  he  was  earnest,  very 
affectionate,  and  generous,  but  of  nice  sensibility,  over 
anxious,  and  sometimes  timid. 

Mr.  S.  Wharton  wrote  to  Mr.  Read  as  follows,  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  Itth  November,  1782. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  you  a  few  days  ago,  but,  as  the  Chief 
Justice  is  going  to  New  Castle,  it  affords  me  an  opportunity 
of  conveying  the  latest  public  papers. 

"News  we  have  little  that  can  be  relied  upon,  except  a 
person  is  come  from  General  Green's  camp,  and  says  that 
the  10th  of  November  was  publicly  fixed  for  the  total 
evacuation  of  Charleston.  Part  of  the  stores,  and  some 
part  of  the  garrison,  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  are  sailed 
for  St.  Augustine.  All  the  British,  he  asserts,  are  to  go  to 
New  York,  and  the  Hessians  to  Nova  Scotia. 

"It  is  said  a  vessel,  arrived  after  a  short  passage  from 
Jamaica,  came  to  anchor  at  Sandy  Hook,  and  the  captain 
proceeded  to  New  York.  Immediately  Sir  Guy  Carleton 
and  Admiral  Digby  called  a  council  of  war,  which  lasted 
nine  hours,  and  then  the  captain  of  the  vessel  returned  to 
it,  and  she  immediately  sailed.  Some  say  that  she  went  to 
the  British  fleet  cruising  near  Gardner's  Island,  with  orders 
for  it  to  proceed  immediately  to  Jamaica,  as  the  governor 
of  that  island  was  very  apprehensive  of  an  immediate 
attack  from  a  large  force  of  French  and  Spaniards.  This, 
I  apprehend,  is  all  conjecture,  for  I  think  the  French  and 
Spaniards  would  not  diminish  their  European  fleet  until 
the  fate  of  Gibraltar  was  decided.  Indeed,  it  is  alleged, 
but,  I  believe,  without  any  the  least  probability,  that  it  had 
surrendered  to  the  besiegers.  It  is  also  asserted,  upon  better 


374  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

foundation,  that  Lord  Howe  had  not  departed  from  England, 
the  27th  of  September;  if  so,  it  affords  some  grounds  to 
suppose  that  the  garrison  of  Gibraltar  could  not  long  resist 
the  very  powerful  attack  of  the  French  and  Spanish  army 
by  sea  and  land. 

"  The  settlers  to  the  westward  of  the  Allegheny  Mount 
ain  have  declared  that  the  country  within  that  space  is 
independent  of  Pennsylvania,  and  they  are  fast  settling 
the  lands  westward  of  the  river  Ohio.  This  important 
circumstance  was  communicated  to  Congress  and  the  Gov 
ernment  of  Pennsylvania  on  Friday  last,  and  the  Council 
and  Assembly  of  this  State,  and  [they  will]  have  a  con 
ference  upon  this  intelligence  to-morrow.  Many,  of  both 
bodies,  are  of  opinion  that  this  State  would  be  large  enough 
if  it  was  confined  to  the  Alleghany  Mountain,  and  it  would 
be  wisdom  to  acquiesce  in  the  proposition  of  an  independent 
State,  if  it  was  founded  upon  the  admission  of  the  rights  of 
such  as  have  just  claim.  Congress  could  now  decide  the 
measures  of  the  new  government;  but,  if  the  affair  is 
neglected  for  any  length  of  time,  it  will  be  as  unmanageable 
as  that  of  Vermont,  which  has  been  and  will  be  fruitful  of 
much  vexation  to  the  National  Council. 

"Our  friend,  the  President  of  this  State,  is  extremely  de 
sirous  of  having  an  interview  with  you,  and  therefore  has 
desired  me  to  write  to  you  and  know  whether  you  would 
be  so  obliging  as  to  give  him  a  meeting  at  Chester,  some 
day,  in  about  a  fortnight  or  a  few  days  later,  as  he  wishes 
much  to  talk  to  you  upon  some  important  matters.  He 
proposes  to  stay  only  one  night  at  Chester,  and  the  next 
day  to  return,  in  order  that  you  may  not  be  detained 
longer  than  one  night  from  your  family.  I  must  desire  you 
to  do  me  the  favor  of  giving  me  an  answer,  by  Mr.  McKean, 
to  this  request,  and  that  you  would  fix  the  day  of  meeting, 
and  place,  if  any  should  be  more  agreeable  to  you  than 
Chester, — somewhere  not  far  from  it, — in  this  State. 

"  My  wife  and  children  desire  to  be  affectionately  remem 
bered  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  your  children. 

"  I  am,  most  sincerely,  your  faithful  friend, 

"SAMUEL  WHARTON. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

In  the  midst  of  the  engagements  of  his  laborious  profes 
sion,  Mr.  Read  was  startled,  by  the  communication  to  him 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  375 

in  the  letter  below,  of  the  wish  of  his  friends  in  the  Conti 
nental  Congress  to  nominate  him  for  a  high  judicial  office, 
then  vacant,  and  to  be  immediately  filled  by  that  body. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  27th  November,  1782. 

"DEAR  BROTHER,  —  Mr.  Thomas  Fitsimmons,  who  is  in 
Congress  from  this  State,  informed  -me  last  evening  that  two 
judges  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases  are  shortly 
to  be  appointed,  and  that,  in  conversations  at  which  he  had 
been  present,  you  were  mentioned  by  several  members  as 
one  of  the  persons  they  would  wish  to  have  in  that  office ; 
but  as  no  gentleman  could  take  the  liberty  of  proposing 
you  publicly  without  knowing  that  it  would  have  your  ap 
probation,  he  desired  I  would  acquaint  you  of  the  matter, 
and  request  that  I  might  be  authorized  to  deliver  your 
sentiments  respecting  it.  He  said  it  seemed  to  be  generally 
agreed  that  the  Eastern  States  should  furnish  one  of  the 
judges,  and  the  Middle  States  the  other;  and  he  had  every 
reason  to  believe  you  would  be  adopted  for  the  latter,  if 
agreeable  to  you.  He  also  bid  me  assure  you  that  your 
name  would  not  be  committed  without  a  moral  certainty  of 
being  accepted.  The  salary  is  six  hundred  pounds  per 
annum,  and  he  said  it  would  not  require  above  six  or  eight 
weeks  at  most  in  the  year  to  perform  all  the  duties.  There 
are  three  stated  sessions  annually, — viz.,  one  at  Hartford, 
Connecticut,  and  at  this  place,  and  one  in  Virginia;  but  it  is 
very  seldom  there  is  business  to  occasion  all  these  meetings. 
He  said  many  members  had  expressed  a  strong  desire  that 
it  might  meet  your  approbation.  I  must  confess  I  wish  it, 
from  motives  that  regard  your  health,  which  I  believe 
would  be  much  benefited  by  the  exercise  [holding  this 
office]  would  occasion. 

"  I  know  of  no  news  here  at  present.  Mrs.  Read  is  very 
anxious  about  our  brother  Thomas.  We  can  have  nothing 
concerning  him  on  which  any  dependence  ought  to  be 
placed  since  the  account  of  his  capture.  My  apprehensions 
are  that  he  was  taken  by  a  frigate,  bound  either  to  the 
West  Indies  or  Europe ;  in  either  of  which  cases  it  may  be 
a  considerable  time  before  we  hear  from  him. 

"  I  remain  your  truly  affectionate  brother, 

"  JAMES  READ. 

"  To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 


376  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  replied  promptly,  yet  after  the 
careful  consideration  of  the  question  it  presented,  which  the 
importance  of  its  right  decision  to  himself  and  his  family 
demanded,  and  with  his  characteristic  caution. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  28th  November,  1782. 

"  DEAR  JAMES, — I  received  yours  of  yesterday,  mention 
ing  Mr.  T.  Fitsimmons's  conversation  with  you  on  the  va 
cancy  in  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases,  and  his 
wish  to  know  whether  I  approved  of  the  proposition  of  him 
and  some  other  members  of  Congress  to  put  me  in  nomina 
tion  to  fill  a  vacancy  there.     I  consider  myself  much  obliged 
to  that  gentleman  and  those  members  of  Congress  for  their 
favorable  opinion  of  my  integrity  and  abilities,  so  far  as  to 
suppose  them  equal  to  this  discharge  of  such  a  trust,  being 
conscious  myself  of  a  want  in  that  species  of  law  knowledge, 
presently,  which  might  be  immediately  necessary  to  be  ex 
ercised  in  case  the  proposed  nomination  should  succeed  :  I 
have  doubts  whether  I  might  not  disgrace  their  choice. 
However,  previous  to  any  assent  on  my  part,  it  would  be 
necessary  for  me  to  know  what  changes  iii  my  situation  and 
present  business  must  necessarily  follow  the  appointment, 
if  made,  as  I  take  it  for  granted  that  Congress  would  expect 
that  their  Judge  of  Appeals  would  not  prosecute  the  busi 
ness  of  an  attorney  in  any  one  of  the  States,  and  perhaps 
not  that  of  a  counsel  in  the  common-law  courts.     If  these 
are  both  to  be  laid  aside,  I  am  apprehensive  that  the  salary 
of  six  hundred  pounds  per  annum  would  not  do  for  me, 
whose  property  has  been  amazingly  diminished  since  the 
commencement  of  the  American  troubles.     The  necessary 
travelling  expenses  would  sink  a  third  of  this  sum  annually, 
for  if  fixed  for  the  Middle  Department,  it  would  fall  to  my 
lot  to  attend  at  each  stated  session  in  the  Eastern,  Middle, 
and  Southern  Department;   as,  for  instance,  the  Eastern 
judge  would  readily  find  an  excuse  for  not  serving  in  Vir 
ginia,  and  so  the  Southern  judge  in  Connecticut;  and  their 
attendance  in  the  Middle  district  might  be  settled  by  them 
in  turns  :  this  supposing  their  residence  where  Congress  sits 
is  not  required,  which  is  also  material  for  me  to  know.   Was 
my  fortune  such  as  would  admit  of  my  providing  for  my 
family  in  a  very  moderate  manner,  without  further  addition 
thereto,  I  should  not  make  a  question  of  this  sort;  but  it  is 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  377 

clearly  otherwise ;  and  therefore,  as  1  have  sacrificed  much 
time  and  money  for  seven  years  past,  my  duty  to  my  family 
requires  that  I  should  give  some  attention  to  their  interest; 
and  I  am  persuaded  that  those  gentlemen  who  have  been 
pleased  to  think  of  me  for  one  of  the  vacancies  in  the  Court 
of  Appeals  would  not  censure  this  attention.  My  views 
and  expectations  are  small  and  confined.  I  can  with  safety 
say  that  neither  avarice  nor  ambition  have  taken  much  root 
in  my  breast,  but  those  whom  I  have  been  the  occasion  of 
[their]  coming  into  the  world  I  must  provide  for.  These 
things  I  have  thrown  out  rather  suddenly,  as  a  favorable 
opportunity  now  offers  to  send  this  which  might  not  happen 
for  many  days  to  come.  Therefore  I  must  beg  the  favor  of 
you  to  make  every  inquiry  relative  to  this  office  I  suggest 
herein,  and,  if  practicable,  send  me  an  account  thereof 
before  you  give  my  final  answer  and  resolution  to  Mr.  Fit- 
simmons :  [1st]  Where  my  residence  must  or  may  be. 
[2d]  The  present  judge  [in  the  Southern  Department],  his 
name  and  public  character.  [3d]  Who  is  thought  of  for 
the  Eastern  Department,  and  his  character  as  to  integrity 
and  abilities — with  such  only  would  I  wish  to  act.  [4th] 
Out  of  what  fund  is  the  annual  salary  payable,  and  the 
competency  of  this  fund.  [5th]  If  travelling  charges  are 
allowed.  [Gth]  Whether  the  office  is  considered  as  incom 
patible  with  other  offices  or  business  except  that  of  member 
of  Congress.  [7th]  Whether  the  establishment  of  this 
court  does  or  not  end  with  the  war ;  if  it  does,  this  will  be 
an  unanswerable  objection  to  acceptance. 

"  I  am,  affectionately  yours, 

"GEORGE  READ." 

To  this  letter  he  received  the  following  reply : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  3d  September,  1782. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — I  received  your  letter  inclosing  one  for 
Governor  Dickinson,  which  I  immediately  delivered,  and 
waited  on  him  the  next  morning  with  that  written  to  me. 
I  saw  him  this  morning,  when  he  told  me  that  after  con 
sulting  some  friends  on  the  subject  of  the  letters,  they  had 
determined  you  should  be  put  in  nomination,  and  that  he 
would  see  you  on  Saturday  next.  After  I  parted  from  the 
governor  I  met  Mr.  S.  Wharton,  who  told  rne  the  nomina- 

25 


378  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

tion  was  made  yesterday,  in  consequence  of  some  conversa 
tion  had  with  Mr.  Dickinson,  who  showed  them  your  let 
ters  ;  that  your  friends  have  no  doubt  but  you  will  be  chosen 
(with  himself  it  amounts  to  a  certainty)  ;  and  the  choice  is 
to  be  made  on  Thursday.  He  intends  to  see  you  on  Satur 
day  with  the  governor.  These  gentlemen  will  be  able  to 
inform  you  of  the  event ;  therefore  I  must  refer  you  to  them 
for  further  particulars. 

"I  am  told  the  judges  are  paid  as  part  of  the  civil  list; 
all  which,  I  am  told,  receive  pretty  regular  quarterly  pay 
ments.  You  will  have  heard  that  our  brother  Thomas  has 
got  home,  having  called  at  our  mother's  on  his  way.  We 
are  all  well  at  present,  and  send  our  love  to  you  and  yours. 
"  I  remain,  yours  very  affectionately, 

"JAMES  BEAD. 

"  To  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

In  accordance  with  the  expectation  of  his  friends,  Mr. 
Read  was  chosen  by  the  Continental  Congress  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases,  established 
by  Congress,  under  the  ninth  article  of  the  Confederation,  on 
the  5th  day  of  December.  This  appointment  was  announced 
in  the  most  gratifying  manner  by  Mr.  Boudinot,  the  then 
President  of  the  Continental  Congress,  in  his  letter  dated 

"PHILADELPHIA,  6th  December,  1T82. 

"  Sm, — It  gives  me  very  particular  satisfaction  to  have 
the  honor  of  presenting  you  the  commission  of  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  whereby  ybu  are  constituted 
one  of  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  all  cases  of 
capture  on  the  water,  etc. 

"  Your  established  character  as  a  gentleman,  a  lawyer, 
and  man  of  integrity,  leaves  me  no  room  to  doubt  but  this 
appointment  will  do  honor  to  Congress,  produce  the  happi 
est  consequences  to  the  good  citizens  of  these  States,  and, 
I  hope,  real  satisfaction  to  yourself,  from  the  consciousness 
of  serving  your  country  with  fidelity. 

u  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  every  sentiment  of  esteem 
and  respect,  sir, 

"Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  ELIAS  BOUDINOT. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle,  Dela 


ware." 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  379 

Mr.  Read's  acceptance  of  this  appointment  was  commu 
nicated  to  Mr.  Boudinot  in  the  following  letter  : 


CASTLE,  10th  December,  1782. 

"  SIR,  —  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  Excellency's  letter 
of  the  6th  instant,  inclosing,  under  its  cover,  a  commission 
to  me  from  the  United  States  of  America,  in  Congress  as 
sembled,  for  a  judge's  place  in  their  Court  of  Appeals.  This 
unlooked-for  mark  of  confidence  from  that  very  honorable 
body  impresses  me  with  the  strongest  sense  of  gratitude, 
and  I  can  only  say  that,  under  this  impression,  I  accept  of 
this  appointment  with  the  fullest  intention  to  discharge  the 
duties  thereof  to  the  best  of  my  poor  abilities,  and,  I  hope, 
with  an  integrity  that  may  become  the  station.  I  am  per 
suaded  that  in  doing  so  I  shall  make  the  best  return  in  my 
power  for  the  honor  conferred,  and  the  trust  reposed  in  me 
by  the  Great  Council  of  America. 

"  I  beg  leave  to  return  your  Excellency  my  particular 
thanks  for  the  very  flattering  and  polite  manner  in  which 
you  have  been  pleased  to  communicate  to  me  this  appoint 
ment. 

"I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  your  Excel 
lency's  most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ.* 

"His  Excellency  ELIAS  BOUDINOT,  Esquire,  President  of 
Congress." 

The  delegates  from  Delaware  in  1782  were  Thomas 
McKean,  Philemon  Dickinson,  Csesar  Rodney,  and  Samuel 
Wharton,  and  all,  except  Mr.  Rodney,  being  citizens  of 
Pennsylvania,  their  appointment  was  stigmatized  as  sub 
serviency  to  that  State  ;  but  as  I  find  this  charge  in  a  fac 
tious  and  libellous  pamphlet,  in  which  Mr.  Read  and  the 
party  with  which  its  writer  identifies  him,  is  acrimoniously 
assailed,  I  reject  it  as  unworthy  of  credence.*!* 

*  See  Appendix  B. 

f  Mr.  Madison  alleged  another  cause  for  this  and  like  appointments. 

"  He  reminded  the  Convention  of  another  consequence  of  leaving 
upon  a  small  State  the  burden  of  maintaining  a  representation  in  Con 
gress.  During  a  considerable  period  of  the  war,  one  of  the  repre 
sentatives  of  Delaware  (in  whom  alone,  before  the  signing  of  the  Con 
federation,  was  the  entire  vote  of  that  State,  and  after  that  event  one- 
half  of  its  vote  frequently)  was  a  citizen  and  resident  of  Pennsylvania 


380  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

The  vote  in  the  British  House  of  Commons  against  the 
further  prosecution  of  the  war  in  America,  and  "  Address" 
to  the  crown  in  conformity  with  it,  and  the  state  of  the 
American  army,  from  the  financial  embarrassment  of  the 
country,  relieved  it  from  active  military  operations,  but 
not  without  fear  that  they  might  be  renewed,  as  the  repug 
nance  of  the  British  sovereign  to  the  dismemberment  of  his 
empire  was  undiminished,  and  the  great  victory  of  Rodney 
might  embolden  the  ministry  to  renew  the  war.  The  pleni 
potentiaries  of  the  United  States  concluded,  30th  Novem 
ber,  1782,  a  treaty  with  England,  which,  with  the  recogni 
tion  of  their  independence,  secured,  as  to  the  fisheries  and 
boundaries, — defeating  the  selfish  intrigues  of  France  and 
Spain, — enough  to  satisfy  their  just  and  reasonable  expec 
tations.  Though  this  treaty  was  not  to  take  effect  till 
peace  was  declared  between  England,  France,  and  Spain, 
yet  none  could  doubt,  at  the  close  of  1782,  that  independ 
ence  was  achieved, — the  noble  object  for  which  so  much 
blood,  and  money,  and  toil  had  been  expended,  and  so 
much  wisdom,  self-sacrifice,  courage,  and  patience  mani 
fested,  though  it  ought  not  to  be  denied  that  there  were 
dark  periods  when  patriotism  quailed  under  the  drafts  that 
were  made  upon  it;  ambition,  self-seeking,  and  faction  were 
rampant,  and  the  wisest  and  best  citizens  were  no  longer 
:found  within  the  hall  of  that  once  august  body, — the  Con 
tinental  Congress. 

In  1783  Mr.  Read  not  only  recovered  the  clients  he  had 
lost,  by  his  attendance  upon  Congress,  but  added  to  them ; 
and  he  was  still  a  member  of  the  Delaware  Legislature. 

The  following  letter  communicated  the  joyful  news  of  the 
general  peace  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  March  24th,  1783. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  do  myself  the  honor  to  inclose  you  a 
hand-bill,  containing  the  most  agreeable  intelligence  of  the 
signature  of  the  general  preliminaries  of  peace. 

who  held  an  office  in  his  own  State  incompatible  with  an  appointment 
from  it  to  Congress.  During  another  period  the  same  State  was  repre 
sented  by  three  delegates,  two  of  whom  were  citizens  of  Pennsylvania 
and  the  third  a  citizen  of  New  Jersey.  These  expedients  must  have 
been  intended  to  avoid  the  burden  of  supporting  delegates  from  their 
own  State." — Debates  in  the  Federal  Convention. — Madison  Papers, 
vol.  ii.  p.  901. 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  381 

"  We  have  to  thank  the  Marquis  Lafayette  for  the  early 
information,  who  obtained  leave  that  the  sloop  of  war 
called  the  Triumph  should  touch  here,  though  but  the  sec 
ondary  purpose  of  her  voyage. 

"  I  most  sincerely  congratulate  you  upon  the  happy  pros 
pect  of  public  liberty  and  independence. 

"  The  Superintendent  of  Marine  is  directed  to  call  in  all 
our  cruisers,  and  despatches  are  sent  to  New  York,  inform 
ing  Sir  Guy*  and  Digby  of  the  news,  that  they  may  take 
the  necessary  steps  on  their  side. 

"  I  am,  with  great  regard,  your  obedient  and  very  hum 
ble  servant, 

"  GUNNING  BEDFORD,  Junior."f 

Mr.  Head,  unless  for  cogent  reasons,  could  not,  I  think, 
have  resisted  the  kind  urgency  of  his  friend  John  Dickin 
son's  request,  made  in  his  next  letter : 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Mr.  McKean  tells  me  this  evening  that  you 
intend  to  be  in  town  to-morrow  or  Wednesday  week.  I  beg 
that  you  will  bring  up  Mrs.  Read  with  you,  if  she  can  stay 
but  a  short  time,  and  make  my  house  your  home.  We 
have  a  room  at  your  service,  and  I  am  authorized  to  say  you 
will  make  Mrs.  Dickinson  and  me  very  happy  [by  coming 
to  us].  The  journey  will  be  of  benefit  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  I 
beg  that  good  lady  to  consider  that  there  is  real  difference 
between  things  impossible  and  things  difficult.  I  know  a 
multitude  of  objections  may  be  made, — the  boys  may  grow 
quite  wild  in  the  absence  of  both  of  you,  or  the  servants 
may  turn  the  house  out  at  the  windows,  or  the  garden  be 
come  a  desert,  or  the  cows  be  neglected,  or  a  plurality  of 
inconveniences  may  be  apprehended.  But  confide  in  your 
fortune ;  engage  the  friendly  assistance  of  your  worthy 
brother  and  neighbor,  and  give  particular  directions  to  my 
good  friend  Juba,  and  I'll  be  bound  affairs  will  run  on  very 
cleverly. 

"  Mrs.  Dickinson  and  Sally  present  their  most  respectful 
compliments  to  you,  Mrs.  Read,  and  the  family,  and  I  de 
sire  that  mine  also  may  be  accepted. 

*  Carleton. 

f  The  delegates  in  Congress,  A.D.  It 83,  were  Caesar  Rodney,  James 
Tilton,  Eleazer  McComb,  and  Gunning  Bedford,  Junior. 


382  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"I  am,  dear  sir,  ever  affectionately  your  very  humble 
servant, 

"JonN  DICKINSON. 
"April  5th,  1783. 
"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Called  to  Dover  by  a  session  of  the  Legislature,  Mr.  Read 
wrote  to  his  wife  from  that  place. 

"June  llth,  1783. 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  This  public  business  of  ours  goes  on 

so  slowly  that  I  have  my  apprehensions  of  being  detained 
here  part  of  the  next  week,  unless  much  of  what  is  under 
consideration  should  be. left  unfinished.  I  could  wish  to 
have  a  few  weeks  of  entire  relaxation  from  business,  being 
persuaded  that  I  shall  not  recover  that  depression  of  the 
spirits  which  has  attended  my  habit  since  my  sickness  in 
Philadelphia,  for  though  I  have  been  free  from  any  pains, 
yet  I  continue  in  a  very  relaxed  state.  Having  the  mind 
perfectly  freed  from  regular  thinking,  and  some  seasonable 
exercise,  I  am  persuaded  would  afford  the  relief  I  want, 
but  this  cannot  be  for  more  than  a  fortnight  to  come.  The 
Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer  is  fixed  for  Monday  week  at 
New  Castle,  said  the  Chief  Justice  last  evening,  and  the 
business  thereof  will  take  up  that  week.  The  elder  David 
Hall  is  dead,  and  his  offices  of  prothonotary  and  clerk  of 
the  peace  are  solicited  for  by  his  son,  the  doctor,  and  Harry 
Neil.  I  have  not  heard  of  any  other  appliers  as  yet. 
There  will  be  no  determination  of  the  person  till  the  Presi 
dent's  return,  as  his  Privy  Council  have  a  voice  therein.  I 
do  not  recollect  anything  else  that  hath  occurred  worth 
mentioning. 

"  Remember  me  to  our  children  and  friends,  and  believe 
me  yours  most  affectionately, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  Mrs.  G.  READ,  New  Castle,  per  JOHN  YINING,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Read,  being  in  Philadelphia  in  the  month  of  August, 
had,  for  what  reason  does  not  appear,  not  gone  to  his  friend 
Mr.  Dickinson's  house  to  lodge,  as  was  expected,  and  Mr. 
Dickinson  wrote,  in  consequence,  the  following  letter  of 
affectionate  expostulation  : 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  383 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  wrote  to  you  some  days  ago,  insisting 
upon  your  lodging  with  me,  having  heard  accidentally 
that  you  were  to  be  in  town.  1  sent  the  letter  by  Mr. 
Curtis  Clay. 

"  I  now  hear  with  surprise  that  you  are  at  Mrs.  House's. 
You  must  not  treat  me  so  unkindly.  Kemove  to  my  house 
to-morrow,  with  bag  and  baggage,  or  I  will  take  it  as  most 
unfriendly  behavior.  What  can  you  mean  ?  I  know  that 
I  may  always  take  leave  to  shun  New  Castle,  which  I  will 
religiously  do,  unless  you  treat  me  in  the  character  I  have 
a  pleasure  in  endeavoring  to  preserve,  of  being  your  friend. 

"JoiiN  DICKINSON. 

"Wednesday,  August — ,  1783." 

In  September  Mr.  Read  was  again  called  to  Philadelphia, 
to  attend  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases,  and 
again  urged  by  his  friend  Mr.  Dickinson  to  be  his  guest: 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  understand  that  the  Court  of  Appeals 
sits  this  month.  I  therefore  insist  upon  your  taking  your 
former  lodgings  here.  Please  to  give  Mrs.  Dickinson's 
compliments  to  Mrs.  Read,  and  tell  her,  if  she  really  de 
sires  to  oblige  us,  she  will  visit  Philadelphia  with  you. 
"  I  am,  sir,  your  truly  affectionate 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  September  1st,  1783. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Between  his  public  duties  and  professional  engagements, 
Mr.  Read's  life  was  one  of  incessant  occupation.  It  appears 
by  the  following  letter  that  in  November  he  was  in  Dover, 
as  member  of  Council,  the  Legislature  being  in  session : 

"  MY  DEAR  G ,  I  sit  down  to  write  at  eight  o'clock  this 

Friday  evening,  after  a  tedious  sitting  to  hear  the  long  re 
lation  given  by  witnesses  under  examination  as  to  the 
irregularities  complained  of  in  the  Sussex  election.  From 
the  slow  progress  in  this  work,  which  was  begun  yesterday, 
I  cannot  give  you  any  just  information  as  to  the  time  of  my 
return,  but  presently  suppose  it  will  not  be  till  the  latter 
part  of  the  next  week.  The  Council  have  gone  through 
the  examination  of  the  Kent  election,  but  no  determination 


384  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

is  yet  had  thereon.  I  have  just  got  a  note  from  Mr.  B. 
Chew,  mentioning  his  having  seen  you  yesterday,  at  half- 
past  one  o'clock,  and  all  well.  I  have  the  pleasure  of  in 
forming  you  that  I  am  presently  in  the  like  situation,  but 
I  know  of  nothing  particular  here  worth  mentioning.  Dr. 
Gilden,  who  is  to  carry  this,  has  let  me  know  that  he  in 
tends  setting  out  from  hence  early  to-morrow  morning; 
therefore  accept  of  this  as  an  apology  for  a  hasty  scrawl. 
My  love  to  our  friends,  and  believe  me  yours,  most  affec 
tionately, 

"  GEORGE  KEAD. 

"DOVER,  7th  November,  1783. 

"Mrs.  G.  READ,  New  Castle." 

On  the  17th  November  Mr.  Dickinson  wrote  to  Mr.  Read, 
"  I  shall  be  exceedingly  obliged  to  you  if  you  could,  with 
out  too  much  trouble,  send  me  a  copy  of  your  militia  law. 
We  think  here  that  we  have  very  great  reason  to  complain 
of  two  of  your  young  gentlemen  who  have  been  in  town 
and  never  called  to  see  us,  except  one  of  them,  in  going  up 
to  Bordentown." 

Judge  Killen  facetiously  announces  his  second  marriage 
in  the  following  letter: 

"  DOVER,  December  10th,  1783. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Since  I  saw  you  last  I  have  got  married, — 
God  help  me !  The  mighty  advantageous  character  you 
gave  me  of  the  woman  I  am  now  obliged  to  acknowledge 
for  a  wife  had  no  small  influence  in  bringing  about  our 
present  union,  which  I  am  fearful  will  ruin  me;  that  is, 
bring  me  into  disgrace  with  all  my  friends  and  acquaint 
ance,  but  more  especially  with  hers.  Had  I  married  a 
termigant,  I  believe  I  should  have  made  a  tolerably  peace 
ful  husband,  and  submitted  quietly  to  a  petticoat  despotism; 
but  this  good  woman — my  wife,  I  mean — pays  such  an  ex 
treme  attention  to  me  and  my  children, — shows  such  a 
desire  to  please, — that  I  arn  afraid  she  will  utterly  spoil  me, 
and,  instead  of  the  henpecked  husband,  will  transform  me 
into  the  legal  tyrant.  This  you  know  would  be  a  great 
misfortune  to  me,  as  it  would  inevitably  change  the  favor 
able  sentiments  you  and  others  of  my  friends  may  have  en 
tertained  of  me  heretofore  into  resentment  and  detestation, 
as  none  of  you  who  knew  Mrs.  Killen  before  her  connection 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  385 

with  me,  in  case  any  discontent  or  uneasiness  should  arise 
between  her  and  me,  will  charge  her  with  being  the  cause, 
— all  the  blame  will  be  attributed  to  me.  From  this  state 
of  my  case  you  will  naturally  conclude  that,  by  entering 
into  the  matrimonial  contract,  I  entered  into  recognizance 
for  my  future  good  behavior.  If,  therefore,  I  have  any 
regard  to  my  own  credit,  it  will  be  incumbent  on  me  not  to 
forfeit  this  recognizance ;  for  in  that  case,  should  you  be 
employed  to  bring  an  action  thereon,  I  know  you  will  prose 
cute  me  with  the  utmost  rigor.  For  this  reason  I  will, 
under  all  my  infirmities,  strive,  by  my  peaceable  behavior, 
to  avoid  this  danger.  But,  to  be  a  little  serious.  Mrs. 
Killen  seems  much  pleased  with  her  new  place  of  residence, 
and  the  kind  and  polite  reception  she  has  met  with  here 
from  many  of  my  friends  and  acquaintances,  of  both  sexes, 
but,  perhaps,  as  much  owing  to  the  amiable  character  she 
sustained  before  her  marriage  as  to  their  friendship  for  me. 
Be  that  as  it  may,  you  can,  if  you  please,  when  you  come 
to  attend  the  next  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly  at  this 
place,  be  better  informed  of  things  interesting  to  her  than 
I  can  relate.  In  the  mean  time  she  joins  me  in  our  respect 
ful  compliments  to  you  and  Mrs.  Read. 

UI  am,  dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  KILLEN. 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

In  December,  1783,  Mr.  Livingston,  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  resigned.  General  Schuyler,  Mr.  Read,  and  Mr. 
Clymer  were  nominated  to  succeed  him,  but  unwillingness 
was  manifested  by  several  States  to  vote  for  any  of  these 
gentlemen;  and  it  having  been  hinted  that  Mr.  Livingston 
might  be  prevailed  on  to  serve  till  the  spring,  a  committee 
was  appointed  (December  20th)  to  confer  with  him,  who 
reported  (December  21st)  that  he  had  consented  to  do  so; 
and  this  report  was  agreed  to  without  opposition. — Elliott's 
Debates,  vol.  v.  pp.  9,  16. 

The  year  1783  closed  upon  Mr.  Read  in  the  bosom  of  his 
family,  sharing  the  joy  of  his  countrymen  at  the  successful 
termination  of  their  contest  with  Great  Britain ;  and  he 
could  not  but  share  in  the  anxiety  and  gloom  of  1784,  and 
several  succeeding  years,  when  the  States  (united  little  more 
than  in  name),  exhausted  by  eight  years  of  war,  without 


386  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

credit,  almost,  at  home  and  abroad,  and  without  an  efficient 
national  government,  seemed  to  be  drifting,  helpless  and 
hopeless,  to  confusion  and  anarchy. 

Of  Mr.  Read's  correspondence  in  1784  I  have  found  but 
two  letters.  Of  these,  the  first  is  from  Mr.  Dickinson  ;  the 
other  from  himself  to  merchants  of  Philadelphia. 

"  DEAR  SIR,  —  Last  night  I  returned  from  Carlisle  —  a  jaunt 
that  I  hope  will  be  of  some  service  to  my  health.  To-day 
I  met  your  son  in  the  street,  and  he  was  so  obliging  as  to 
call  this  afternoon.  He  can  spare  but  a  few  minutes,  as  he 
proposes  to  leave  town  to-morrow  morning.  I  cannot  miss 
the  opportunity  of  returning  you  my  thanks  for  making  the 
inquiries  mentioned  in  a  former  letter,  and  have  only  further 
to  trouble  you  by  requesting  you  to  know  of  Mr.  Duff  to 
whom  he  paid  the  money  that  was  recovered  by  McCool. 
Mrs.  Dickinson  and  Sally  join  with  me  in  presenting  our 
best  compliments  to  you,  Mrs.  Read,  and  the  young  gentle 
men. 

"I  am,  sir,  your  very  affectionate  and  humble  servant, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  April  14th,  1784. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 


CASTLE,  9th  September,  H84. 

"GENTLEMEN,  —  This  will  be  presented  to  you  by  a  Mr, 
Nathan  Thomas,  of  this  county  [New  Castle],  whose  in 
clination  leads  him  to  perfect  his  studies  (begun  here)  in 
the  physical  line  at  Edinburgh  ;  and  to  enable  him  to  con 
tinue  there  the  necessary  time  for  that  purpose,  he  wishes 
to  have  a  letter  of  credit  to  your  house,  as  connected  in 
commerce  with  that  city,  and  has  applied  to  me  for  such 
letter,  saying  that  you  were  pleased  to  inform  him  that 
such  a  letter  from  me  would  be  satisfactory  to  you,  and  that 
you  would  honor  his  drafts  to  the  amount  thereof.  Though 
this  young  gentleman  is  but  little  known  to  me,  I  well  knew 
his  father,  who,  at  his  death,  left  a  valuable  estate  among 
his  children  ;  and  I  learn  that  this  son  inherits  parts  thereof, 
to  the  value  of  one  thousand  pounds  currency  or  more. 
Therefore,  willing  to  encourage  him  in  his  laudable  pursuit 
after  knowledge,  I  do  hereby  engage  myself  to  be  answer 
able  to  you  for  his  occasional  drafts  for  money  from  time  to 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  387 

time,  so  as  the  same  shall  not  in  the  whole  exceed  the  sum 
of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling  money  of  Great  Britain,  ex 
pecting  that  you  will  give  me  a  reasonable  notice  previous 
to  your  expected  times  for  payment  of  them,  that  I  may  be 
punctual  therein  and  you  not  disappointed.  I  am  obliged 
by  your  confidence,  though  not  personally  known  [to  you] ; 
and  I  am,  with  much  esteem,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"  Messrs.  STEWART  £  BARR,  Merchants  in  Philadelphia." 

By  this  generous  act  Mr.  Read  suffered  some  inconven 
ience,  as  will  appear. 

In  conformity  with  a  resolution  of  Congress  of  10th  De 
cember,  1784,  the  agents  of  New  York  and  Massachusetts 
(December  24th,  1784)  appointed  Mr.  Read,  with  eight 
others,  commissioners  to  constitute  a  court  to  determine  a 
controversy  as  to  territory  claimed  by  both,  by  virtue  of 
article  ninth  of  the  Confederation. — Journals  of  Congress, 
vol.  xi.  pp.  14,  24,  25. 

The  Legislature  of  Delaware  enacted  a  law  (February 
5th,  1785)  for  calling  in,  paying,  and  destroying  such  of  the 
bills  of  credit,  issued  by  the  then  existing  or  any  preceding 
government  of  this  State,  as  were  outstanding.*  The  fol 
lowing  "  Protest"  of  Messrs.  Bassett  and  Read  shows  in  a 
very  luminous  manner  the  reasons  of  their  dissent  from  the 
provision  for  the  payment  of  these  bills  at  the  rate  of  one 
pound  for  every  seventy-five  pounds  thereby  secured  to  be 
paid  : 

"  Richard  Bassett,  upon  the  yeas  and  nays  being  entered 
on  the  question  aforesaid  [shall  the  section  of  the  bill  con 
taining  the  above  provision  pass],  demanded  leave  to  enter 
reasons  of  dissent  thereto;  which,  being  granted,  he  delivered 
a  paper,  subscribed  by  him  and  George  Read,  containing  as 
follows.  [They]  dissent : 

"  Because  by  an  act  of  the  Assembly  of  this  State,  passed 
the  llth  of  February,  1781,  for  stating  the  accounts  of  the 
several  loan  officers,  etc.  in  the  respective  counties  of  this 
State,  commissioners  were  appointed  for  the  express  pur 
pose  of  settling  and  stating  all  the  accounts  of  the  said  loan 

*  Laws  of  Delaware,  vol.  ii.  p.  801. 


388  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

officers,  from  the  1st  of  June,  1774,  to  the  1st  of  June,  1781, 
therein  forming  an  accurate  list  of  all  mortgages  outstand 
ing, — principal  and  interest  due  and  to  become  due  to  the 
1st  of  June  last  aforesaid, — with  the  sums  of  money  in  the 
hands  of  any  of  the  trustees  in  each  year  during  the  said 
period,  whether  the  same,  or  any  or  what  part  thereof  was 
gold,  silver,  government,  State,  or  Continental  money,  and 
when  and  how  the  same  had  been  applied  or  disposed  of, 
and  also  giving  in  such  statement  all  such  other  information 
respecting  the  premises  as  might  best  enable  the  General  Assem 
bly  to  determine  concerning  the  said  funds  and  the  transac 
tions  relating  to  the  said  office.  That  the  said  commission 
ers  have  reported  no  more  than  two  statements  of  the  said 
loan  office  transactions, — to  wit,  for  the  counties  of  Kent 
and  Sussex;  and  these  are  wanting  in  some  part  of  the 
information  specially  pointed  out,  and  have  not  yet  been 
acted  upon  by  the  General  Assembly.  That  the  delays  in 
making  these  statements  must  have  been  considered  una 
voidable,  otherwise  it  is  to  be  presumed  other  commissioners 
would  have  been  appointed  to  that  duty. 

"That  we  who  dissent  to  the  first  enacting  clause  of  the 
bill,  so  far  as  it  fixes  the  redeeming  value  of  these  bills  of 
credit  at  the  rate  of  seventy-five  pounds  of  their  nominal 
sums  as  only  equal  to  one  pound  of  the  present  lawful 
money  of  the  State,  are  of  opinion  that  the  General  Assem 
bly,  at  this  time,  have  not  that  information  respecting  the 
said  loan  office  funds  as  was  directed  to  be  furnished  under 
the  act  of  Assembly  before  mentioned,  and  which  we  con 
ceive  to  be  indispensably  necessary  to  fix  the  redeeming 
value  of  these  bills  upon  the  principles  of  justice  and  pres 
ervation  of  the  public  faith,  pledged  by  the  legislative  au 
thority  of  the  State,  at  the  time  of  emitting  and  sending  forth 
the  said  bills  of  credit  as  a  temporary  currency  for  the  benefit 
and  advantage  of  the  State  and  its  wanting  inhabitants;  and 
that  we  may  be  understood  in  the  assertion  that  the  public 
faith,  as  aforesaid,  hath  been  pledged,  we  refer  to  the  sev 
eral  acts  of  Assembly  for  emitting  different  sums,  in  bills 
of  credit,  on  loan,  and  providing  funds  for  payment  of 
public  debt;  by  which  it  appears  that  these  paper  bills  were 
devised  to  supply  the  place  of  a  deficient  quantity  of  gold 
and  silver,  necessary  for  the  common  uses  of  money  in  the 
society,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  furnish  government  with  a 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  389 

supply  for  the  support  thereof  to  be  derived  from  the  interest 
reserved,  and  to  be  paid  by  those  who  had  the  loaned  use 
of  the  paper  bills  for  a  limited  time ;  that  these  borrowers, 
to  secure  the  return  or  repayment  of  those  bills  after  that 
limited  time,  mortgaged  their  real  property  to  trustees  ap 
pointed  for  the  purpose,  and  bound  themselves,  in  their 
mortgages,  to  pay  the  nominal  sums  of  the  bills  of  credit 
loaned  to  them,  either  in  like  bills,  or  in  other  current 
money  of  America,  which  might  furnish  the  trustees  with 
other  money  to  exchange  for  the  remaining  part  of  the  bills 
of  credit  that  had  issued  from  the  said  loan  offices,  and  not  re 
paid  in  kind  by  the  borrowers ;  so  that  all  the  bills  of  credit 
which  were  so  sent  forth  for  temporary  circulation,  in  lieu 
of  gold  and  silver,  might  gain  a  credit  or  opinion,  among 
the  holders  thereof,  equal  to  that  of  gold  and  silver,  from 
the  nature  and  value  of  the  property  pledged  to  the  public, 
by  the  borrowers  or  mortgagers,  for  the  repayment  or  re 
demption  of  such  bills  of  credit.  That  this  security,  and  it 
alone,  could  and  did  support  the  value  of  those  bills  as  equal 
to  gold  and  silver, — it  being  of  that  nature  as  best  to  insure 
the  return  of  those  bills  to  the  public's  trustees  or  agents, 
who,  by  those  laws  of  emission,  were  directed  to  receive,  ex 
change  for,  and  afterwards  burn  and  destroy  all  those  bills, 
after  a  circulation,  for  the  purposes  above  mentioned,  for 
the  periods  of  twelve  or,  at  most,  sixteen  years, — the  long 
est  time  proposed,  in  any  of  those  laws,  for  their  existence. 
In  this  manner,  we  say,  the  public  faith  of  the  State  hath 
been  pledged  by  the  legislative  authority  thereof.  Now 
the  question  arises  shall  that  be  wantonly  or  unnecessarily 
broken  by  directing  that  the  principal  moneys  due  on  the 
outstanding  mortgages,  when  paid  in,  shall  be  applied  but 
in  part  to  the  calling  in  and  redeeming  the  paper  bills  of 
credit  emitted,  under  the  circumstances  aforesaid,  at  one- 
fourth  of  the  value  at  which  government  first  parted  with 
them?  and  that  the  residue  of  those  principal  moneys 
should  be  taken  for  the  use  of  the  State,  as  well  as  the  in 
terest  moneys,  which  properly  belonged  to  it,  as  reserved 
and  so  declared  in  the  original  laws  to  be  the  sole  benefit 
that  was  to  accrue  to  government  therefrom,  for,  that  prin 
cipal  being  paper  in  its  emission,  a  return  of  that  paper  was 
to  be  procured,  and  then  [it  was  to  be]  burned  at  limited 
periods,  so  that  if  the  faith  or  promise  made  in  those  acts 


390  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

of  Assembly  was  kept  and  observed  as  it  ought  [to  be],  as 
well  on  principles  of  policy  as  of  justice,  all  those  paper 
bills  ought  to  be  called  in  at  the  value  they  issued  [at],  if 
the  funds  provided  for  so  doing  were  equal  thereto ;  but  if 
lessened  by  unavoidable  accidents  or  measures,  then  so 
much  of  the  funds  as  remained  unhurt,  that  is  so  much  of 
the  principal  moneys  yet  due,  and  which  can  be  received 
on  the  outstanding  mortgages,  should  be  applied  for  this 
purpose,  and  for  this  only ;  and  each  present  holder  ot 
these  paper  bills  should  receive  only  the  sum  per  pound 
which  the  fund  of  principal  moneys,  when  collected  in, 
would  enable  the  trustees  to  give  in  lieu  of  the  whole  sums 
of  paper  bills  emitted  as  aforesaid.  Therefore,  until  it  can 
be  known  how  much  of  principal  moneys  the  outstanding 
mortgages  will  produce  or  bring  into  the  loan  office  chest, 
the  General  Assembly  cannot,  in  justice,  and  consistently] 
with  the  public  faith,  pledged  as  before  mentioned,  fix  the 
value  of  those  bills  of  credit,  demanded  by  the  clause  of  the 
bill  herein  objected  to,  at  perhaps  one-third  or  two-thirds 
less  value  than  the  productive  funds,  arising  from  the  mort 
gages  aforesaid,  may  or  shall  produce.  This  will  be  a  lay 
ing  hold  of  moneys  they  have  not  the  least  color  or  shadow 
of  right  to,  or  pretence  for, — to  wit,  the  principal  moneys 
outstanding  and  due  on  all  the  loan  office  mortgages.  As 
to  the  interest  due,  we  do  riot  apprehend  any  just  or  legal 
claim  can  be  made  thereon  by  the  holders  of  those  paper 
bills  to  be  called  in,  because  that  was  declared,  in  the  first 
instance,  to  be  for  use  of  government.  The  funds  for  se 
curing  the  principal  were  all  that  was  declared  or  offered  for 
securing  the  redemption  of  those  paper  bills,  so  the  holders 
were  to  run  the  risk  of  their  being  reduced  by  unavoidable 
accidents  or  measures  that  might  happen.  Therefore  we, 
the  dissentients,  say  that  fixing  the  payment  of  the  certifi 
cates,  directed  to  be  be  given  up  by  the  respective  trustees 
appointed  in  the  bill,  to  seventy-five  for  one,*  is  improper 
and  unnecessary,  because  premature,  and  now  is  apparently 
unjust  and  unwarrantable  from  anything  appearing  to  this 
House. 

"  RICHARD  BASSETT. 

"GEORGE  READ." 

*  Delaware  Laws,  vol.  ii.  p.  803. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  391 

Mr.  Read  received,  in  August,  the  distressing  intelligence 
of  the  death  of  his  brother-in-law,  the  Reverend  William 
Thompson,  Rector  of  St.  Stephen's  Church,  Cecil  County, 
Maryland. 

"DEAR  SIR, — It  is  with  feelings  of  the  most  tender 
nature  that  I  sit  down  to  inform  you  of  the  death  of  your 
esteemed  friend,  the  Reverend  William  Thompson,  who 
took  his  flight  to  a  better  world  about  half-past  three  this 
afternoon.  He  unfortunately  got  a  small  scratch  upon  his 
leg,  last  week,  and  on  Friday  evening  the  indications  of  a 
mortification  showed  themselves.  It  presently  pervaded 
the  whole  system,  and  would  not  give  the  least  way  to 
any  means  used  by  Doctors  Clayton,  Matthews,  and 
Veazey. 

"  Poor  Mrs.  Thompson,*  who,  as  you  may  imagine,  is  in 
consolable,  cannot  be  prevailed  upon  to  have  the  corpse  irf- 
terred  before  the  service  can  be  performed,  and  the  putrid 
state  of  it  will  not  permit  it  to  be  kept  longer  than  till  to 
morrow  afternoon,  if  so  long.  A  messenger  is  therefore 
hurried  off  to  you  under  a  hope  that  you,  and  any  other  of 
his  friends  who  can,  will  attend,  and  with  a  request  that  you 
will  prevail  on  the  Reverend  Mr.  Wharton  to  accompany 
you  and  preach  his  funeral  sermon.  I  can  on  this  melan 
choly  occasion  only  lament  with  you  the  loss  that  both  the 
community  at  large  and  his  near  connections  must  sustain 
by  his  death. 

"  I  am  so  agitated,  I  hardly  know  what  I  write  you. 

"  Dear  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  MICHAEL  EARL. 

"  CECIL,  half-past  four  o'clock  P.  M.,  Tuesday,  August 
16th,  1785." 

Mr.  Read  was  now  inconvenienced  and  annoyed  by  a 
draft  on  him,  without  the  reasonable,  stipulated  notice,  of 
the  young  man,  Nathan  Thomas,  to  whom  he  had  given 
a  credit  with  a  mercantile  firm  in  Philadelphia,  to  enable 
him  to  pursue  the  study  of  medicine  in  Edinburgh,  where 
was  the  most  celebrated  school  of  physic  of  that  day. 

*  Daughter  of  the  Reverend  George  Ross. 


392  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


CASTLE,  23d  September,  It85. 
"GENTLEMEN,  —  A  bill  drawn  by  Nathan  Thomas,  at  Edin 
burgh,  in  favor  of  Alexander  Mowbray,  for  thirty  pounds 
sterling,  payable  at  five  days'  sight,  directed  to  me,  hath 
been  exhibited  on  yeur  behalf,  as  indorsers  of  that  bill,  for 
acceptance  and  payment,  —  this  being  the  first  notice  I  have 
had  of  such  an  intended  draft,  and  which  was  most  in 
cautiously  made,  by  this  Nathan  Thomas,  at  so  short  a 
sight.  I  have  been  obliged  to  inform  your  friend,  Mr. 
Thompson,  that  I  could  not  accept  it  for  payment  within 
the  time  limited  therein,  having  paid,  and  being  under 
obligations  to  pay,  in  the  course  of  the  next  week,  so  much 
of  the  moneys  that  I  had  on  hand,  that  I  could  not  advance 
even  this  sum  within  the  limit  of  this  bill.  When  you 
resort  to  my  letter  of  the  9th  of  September,  1784,  giving 
Nathan  Thomas  a  credit  with  you  for  occasional  drafts,  not 
exceeding  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  it  was  [you  will 
see]  on  the  terms  of  a  reasonable  notice  previous  to  the  ex 
pected  time  of  payment,  and  I  can  submit  to  you  whether 
this  five  days  can  be  considered  as  such.  To  be  in  this 
situation  of  postponing  payment  of  what  I  may  be  called 
upon  for,  is  very  unpleasing  and  rather  uncommon  with  me, 
and  you  may  be  assured  that  if  I  could  so  immediately  pay 
this  sum,  as  demanded,  I  would  do  so,  rather  than  give  my 
self  the  trouble  of  writing  this,  or  you  that  of  reading  it. 
Nathan  Thomas  has  not  acted  prudently  in  this  business, 
nor  agreeably  to  his  engagements  with  me,  which  were 
that  his  brother,  his  agent  here,  should  collect  his  out 
standing  moneys  and  place  them,  or  so  much  of  them  as  he 
should  want,  in  your  hands,  previous  to  his  drawing,  and 
that  no  draft  should  ever  be  made  till  one  or  more  letters 
of  advice  were  sent  previously,  giving  notice  thereof.  I 
have  never  received  a  line  from  him,  nor  seen  the  brother 
but  once,  to  my  knowledge,  since  I  wrote  to  you,  and  I 
think  he  then  called  to  tell  me  that  Nathan  had  arrived  in 
Great  Britain  ;  and,  in  truth,  the  idea  of  being  drawn  upon 
had  slipped  my  memory,  so  that  I  have  not  from  time  to 
time  made  the  necessary  prudent  inquiries  as  to  the  steps 
taken  to  get  moneys  to  answer  Nathan's  wants,  —  for,  you 
may  be  assured,  I  neither  have  nor  ever  had  a  shilling  of 
his  in  my  possession.  Ho\vever,  agreeably  to  my  engage 
ment  to  you,  I  will  pay  you,  or  your  order,  at  New  Castle, 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  393 

the  amount  of  this  bill,  in  thirty  days  (the  most  common 
usance  in  exchange)  from  this  date,  and,  should  I  be  en 
abled  sooner  so  to  do,  will  give  you  or  Mr.  Thompson  notice 
thereof.  I  shall  take  it  as  a  favor  that  you  write  to  your 
correspondent  to  decline  taking  an}^  drafts  of  this  youngster, 
made  at  less  usances  than  sixty  days,  so  that  no  unneces 
sary  disappointments  may  arise  as  to  the  receiver  or  payer, 
and  I  am  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"To  Messrs.  STEWART  &  BARR,  Merchants,  Philadelphia. 

"After  writing  the  above,  Captain  Robinson  gave  me  an 
order  on  Mr.  Hu :  Thompson,  Wilmington,  for  the  sum  of 
fifty-three  pounds,  nine  shillings,  and  eight  pence,  currency, 
the  amount  of  the  before-mentioned  bill,  which  Mr.  Thomp 
son  accepted  and  gave  me  a  receipt  for  on  the  bill,  for  that 
sum,  and  I  gave  Captain  Robinson  my  note  therefor,  pay 
able  in  twenty  days,  and  I  requested  immediate  payment 
from  James  Thomas." 

Mr.  Read  added  to  this  memorandum,  "Paid  this  note, 
25th  October,  1785,  and  received  the  whole  amount  from 
James  Thomas." 

Mr.  Read  did  not,  as  a  less  benevolent  man  might  have 
done,  withdraw  the  credit  he  had  given  young  Thomas,  as 
appears  from  a  copy  (on  the  back  of  the  above  letter)  of  his 
draft  on  him  for  seventy  pounds,  from  Greenock,  27th  of 
May,  1786,  presented  for  acceptance,  5th  of  August,  1786, 
towards  payment  of  which  he  notes,  on  the  same  letter,  the 
receipt  of  forty  pounds  from  James  Thomas. 

Mr.  Read  was  re-elected  to  the  "  Council,"  at  the  general 
election  held  in  October,  1785,  for  three  years.  The  whole 
number  of  votes  cast  was  1503,  of  which  he  received  1062.* 

Mr.  Read  introduced,  in  the  following  letter,  two  youths, 
seeking  admission  into  Nassau  Hall,  to  the  distinguished 
president  of  that  college,  who  found,  it  may  be  hoped,  in 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  that  office,  occupation  more 
desirable  and  pleasing  to  him,  as  it  certainly  was  more  akin 
to  his  sacred  profession,  than  the  deliberations  and  debates 
of  the  Continental  Congress,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent 
member.  Who  could  have  even  conjectured  the  career  in 

*  Sec  Appendix  C. 
26 


394  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

America  of  this  minister  of  the  kirk  of  Scotland  ?  When 
he  turned  his  back  upon  the  weavers  of  Paisley,  his  friends 
anticipated  that  he  would  win  high  repute  as  a  governor 
and  teacher  of  young  men,  and  probably  be  the  rival,  as  an 
author,  of  Edwards,  the  subtle  defender  of  the  dark  and 
cruel  fatalism  of  Calvin,  —  but  not  that  he  would  be  the  bold 
and  active  and  able  advocate,  as  he  was,  of  colonial  rights, 
in  the  hall  of  Congress  and  without  it,  and  have  the  high 
honor  of  setting  his  name  to  that  immortal  instrument,  the 
Declaration  of  independence.* 


CASTLE,  Ifth  October,  1785. 

"  REVEREND  SIR,  —  This  will  be  handed  to  you  by  two 
young  men,  —  one  my  son,  the  other  a  youth,  son  of  a  de 
ceased  friend,  —  who  wish  to  pursue  a  particular  line  of 
study  at  your  college  for  the  ensuing  twelve  months,  if  the 
same  may  be  consistent  with  your  rules  and  regulations. 
They  have  gone  through  all  the  common  classical  Latin 
authors,  except  Cicero's  Orations,  at  the  grammar  school 
in  this  town,  but  have  read  only  some  small  parts  of  the 
Greek  Testament,  as  nothing  more  of  that  language  was 
intended  for  them.  I  had  expected  ere  this  that  they  would 
have  gone  through  Cicero's  Orations  ;  however,  I  have  been 
disappointed.  Both  of  the  young  men  express  the  desire 
to  begin  the  study  of  the  law,  after  employing  twelve 
months  in  some  branches  of  learning  that  may  be  useful 
and  necessary,  —  viz.,  logic,  moral  philosophy,  and  the  most 
useful  parts  of  mathematics.  They  wait  of  you  to  be  in 
formed  if  they  can  have  a  chance  of  pursuing  such  a  line  of 
education  in  the  college  of  Princeton.  I  have  the  satis 
faction  to  say  that  their  morals  and  conduct  here  have  been 
as  unexceptionable  as  those  of  any  youth  within  my  knowl 
edge  ;  and  I  have  reason  to  hope  a  continuance  of  the  like, 
more  especially  if  they  shall  be  placed  in  the  college,  under 
your  direction.  They  now  attend  you  to  be  informed  if 
they  can  be  thus  instructed,  and  if  so,  will  engage  their 
lodgings,  and  return  again  to  Princeton  by  the  beginning 
or  middle  of  next  month. 

"  I  am,  etc., 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"To  DR.  WITHERSPOON,  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey." 

*  See  Appendix  G. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  395 

The  year  1785  closed  upon  Mr.  Read  with  his  business 
so  increased  as  to  reduce  him  to  what  he  calls,  in  the  follow 
ing  letter  to  his  friend  John  Dickinson,  now  removed  to" 
Wilmington,  a  state  of  slavery. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  20th  December,  1785. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  should  have  done  myself  the  pleasure  of 
waiting  upon  you  yesterday,  with  my  daughter,  that  she 
might  have  paid  her  respects  to  your  lady  and  Miss  Sally, 
but  I  was  unexpectedly  prevented  by  an  accidental  inter 
ference  of  business,  and  through  which  I  am  reduced  to  a 
greater  state  of  slavery  than  my  man  Juba.  The  day  was 
fine  and  tempting,  and  such  another  may  not  happen 
shortly.  The  air  of  this  morning  is  raw  and  disagreeable, 
— rather  too  much  so  to  pass  the  'Ferry;'  however,  on  the 
first  favorable  change  I  shall  embrace  it  and  see  you.  Mrs. 
Read  has  been  much  distressed  with  a  severe  cold  for  more 
than  ten  days  past,  and  must  probably  confine  herself  for 
the  winter.  This  morning  she  complains  of  much  pain  in 
the  breast,  and  the  cough  has  been  violent.  My  brother, 
Captain  Read,  has  been  waiting  for  eight  days  to  have  about 
twelve  hours  of  my  time  devoted  to  some  business  of  his, 
and  this  is  the  first  day  I  could  give  him  an  expectation  of 
appropriating  to  his  service.  I  had  yours  by  Mr.  Lake, 
delivered  after  a  messenger  came  from  the  court  requiring 
my  attendance  there,  and  while  I  was  putting  on  my  shoes, 
so  that  I  had  no  opportunity  of  even  treating  him  with  a 
show  of  civility,  which  I  would  have  done  by  reason  of  your 
introduction  of  him.  The  old  lady,  Almond,  performed  the 
business  you  sent  her  in  for.  Mrs.  Read  and  Miss  Polly 
desire  compliments  to  Mrs.  Dickinson,  Miss  Sally,  and  Miss 
Maria,  to  whom  you  will  present  mine ;  and  I  am,  with 
much  esteem, 

"Your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  Honorable  JOHN  DICKINSON,  Wilmington,  Delaware." 

Mr.  Read's  anxiety  for  his  son  John,  lately  admitted  into 
the  junior  class,  Nassau  Hall,  and  having  recently,  for  the 
first  time,  left  his  paternal  wing,  to  trust  in  his  own  judg 
ment  and  prudence  to  guide  him  in  a  new  scene  with  novel 
companionship,  was  relieved  by  satisfactory  intelligence,  as 
appears  by  the  following  letter : 


396  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"NEW  CASTLE,  December  10th,  1785. 

"  MY  DEAR  SON, — In  yours  of  the  29th  ulto.,  brought  by 
'your  uncle,  John  Read,  you  mention  a  letter  from  you  to 
me  as  sent  per  post.  It  never  came  to  hand,  which  is  the 
reason  you  have  had  no  answer  thereto ;  and  I  am  not  in 
formed  by  your  last  what  might  have  been  theiein  requiring 
a  special  answer.  Your  uncle  tells  me  you  received  one 
from  me  by  that  conveyance,  which  is  all  I  have  yet  wrote. 
One  of  yours  of  the  12th  of  November,  directed  within  to 
your  mamma,  with  a  superscription  to  me,  wherein  you 
mention  being  examined,  and  your  then  seeming  intention 
not  to  enter  the  junior  class  but  only  as  a  resident  student, 
and  to  diet  at  Dr.  Smith's  until  you  heard,  from  me.  My 
letter,  sent  per  post,  left  you  at  liberty  to  act  for  yourself, 
relying  on  your  prudence  for  the  choice  of  measures  and 
conduct.  But  I  understand  from  your  uncle  that  you  have 
entered  the  junior  class,  which,  upon  the  whole,  I  am  best 
satisfied  with ;  and  as  to  the  place  of  your  board,  you  are 
at  liberty  to  choose  for  yourself,  as  you  have  the  means  in 
your  own  power  to  pay  for  it  by  drawing  upon  your  Uncle 
James  in  Philadelphia,  or  writing  to  him  to  send  you  occa 
sionally  what  you  want  by  some  safe  hand,  which  he  can 
readily  meet  with,  you  taking  care  to  notify  him  of  your 
wants  in  time. 

"  I  am  informed  that  young  Mr.  Read,  of  South  Carolina, 
is  in  the  same  room  with  you.  He  is  a  little  known  to  me; 
I  met  with  him  as  a  fellow-lodger  at  Mrs.  House's,  in  Phila 
delphia.  Make  my  compliments  to  him.  I  think  you  will 
have  reason  to  be  pleased  with  him.  His  father  was  a 
native  of  New  Castle,  born  in  the  house  T.  Pusey  now  lives 
in,  next  to  us. 

"  When  you  come  to  be  better  acquainted  with  the  cus 
toms  of  the  college,  and  the  families  about  you,  you  will 
find  all  things  more  agreeable;  and  if  any  matters  are 
wanting  in  the  provision  way,  you  have  the  means  of  pur 
chase  in  your  power,  which,  I  doubt  not,  you  would  use 
prudently.  Your  uncle  tells  me  that  Cantwell  and  you 
express  your  entire  satisfaction  of  the  diet  at  Dr.  Smith's ; 
if  so,  by  all  means,  continue  there.  I  do  expect  that  you 
will  write  me  with  the  utmost  freedom  on  every  occasion 
when  time  shall  admit  of  your  doing  so.  I  am  anxiously 
desirous  of  having  your  mind  at  ease,  for  the  sake  of  its 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  397 

improvement  in  knowledge,  and  I  hope  that  you  will  not 
permit  those  occurrences  which  necessarily  happen  in  the 
attainment  of  knowledge  to  disturb  you  What  I  particu 
larly  allude  to  is  early  rising,  which  is  indispensably  neces 
sary,  though  it  was  shamefully  dispensed  with  at  New 
Castle.  When  you  see  Captain  Little,  inform  him  that  I 
have  his  letter  per  your  uncle,  and  will  comply  with  the 
directions  therein  as  time  and  opportunity  offer.  We  have 
an  adjourned  court,  to  begin  on  Monday  and  continue  each 
day  through  the  week.  I  am  concerned  in  thirty-two  of 
the  causes  set  down  for  trial,  so  that  I  can  attend  to  nothing 
else  during  that  time. 

"  When  you  went  to  Princeton  I  did  not  recollect  that 
Colonel  George  Morgan  lived  there,  or  I  should  have  given 
you  an  introductory  letter  to  him.  He  has  been  long  known 
to  me,  and  is  a  very  worthy  man,  and  I  wish  you  to  be 
known  to  him  and  his  family.  My  first  leisure  will  furnish 
you  with  such  a  letter.  I  have  not  yet  answered  Dr. 
Witherspoon's  letter,  waiting  to  hear  particularly  from  you. 
I  gave  you  the  purport  of  his  to  me.  Look  over  it,  and  if 
you  would  wish  rne  to  mention  anything  relative  to  your 
situation,  inform  me  in  your  next. 

"  Ba  attentive  to  your  health,  taking  prudent  exercise 
when  the  weather  admits.  I  have  written  to  your  brother 
Will  on  the  subject,  and  desired  him  to  transcribe  what  I 
mentioned  to  him  to  attend  to;  if  he  should  delay  comply 
ing  with  my  request,  remind  him  of  it.  By  accustoming- 
yourself  to  letter-writing,  it  will  become  familiar  and  easy. 
Be  attentive  to  your  spelling,  as  mistakes  of  that  sort  are 
rather  culpable  in  a  classical  scholar  of  rank,  and  it  only 
requires  a  little  attention  to  the  words  when  forming  them 
with  the  pen.  Remember  the  family  to  Cantwell  Jones. 
George  will  probably  pay  you  a  visit  ere  long,  but  the  time 
cannot  be  fixed  yet. 

"  I  am,  with  affectionate  regard,  yours, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"  In  your  superscription  of  letters  you  are  not  to  put  Mr. 
and  Esqr.  at  the  same  time, — one  of  them  only  is  proper. 
Your  last,  I  discover,  had  the  Mr.  erased. 

"  Master  JOHN  READ,  Princeton." 


398  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

In  1786  the  mortifying  fact  was  ascertained  that  the 
financial  plan  proposed  by  Congress  in  1783  had  failed. 
This  scheme  vested  in  Congress  power  to  lay  and  collect 
imposts  on  certain  enumerated  articles  of  merchandise 
during  the  period  of  twenty-five  years,  and  so  provided,  in 
part,  a  fund  for  the  expenses  of  the  Confederacy ;  but  it 
could  not  take  effect  without  the  consent  of  all  the  States, 
and  New  York  refused  her  assent.  The  state  of  affairs  was 
gloomy, — the  war-debt  of  the  Revolution,  of  forty-two  mil 
lions  of  dollars,  must  be  paid  or  secured,  and  its  annual 
interest  provided  for,  and  the  country  was  exhausted  by 
that  war.  Congress  had  but  the  shadow  of  power,  its  requi 
sitions  being  disobeyed  and  its  recommendations  unnoticed. 
It  availed  nothing  that  this  body  could  contract  debts  and 
make  treaties,  since  it  could  not  raise  money  to  pay  the  one, 
nor  could  it  enforce  the  other.  There  was  a  mischievous 
party  that  fomented  in  the  States  jealousy  of  the  general 
government,  and  defeated,  too  often,  endeavors  to  make  it 
efficient.  Enterprise  drooped,  patriotism  seemed  dead,  and 
the  future  was  dark  and  unpromising.  The  people  were 
looking  on,  inert,  helpless,  and  stupid,  while  the  opportu 
nity  offered  to  reap  the  fruit  of  their  late  success  was 
passing  from  them.  They  were  like  the  sick  man  at  the 
critical  point  of  his  malady,  when  he  either  dies  or 
recovers. 

Secretary  Thomson's  letter,  the  first  in  my  possession  of 
Mr.  Read's  correspondence  in  the  year  1786,  exhibits  the 
official  delinquencies  in  Delaware, — a  sample  of  those  in 
other  States : 

"  OFFICE  OF  SECRETARY  OF  CONGRESS,  March  1st,  1786. 
"  SIR, — Having  occasion  to  write  to  you  for  the  purpose 
of  forwarding  a  resolution  of  Congress  expressing  their  sense 
of  the  ability,  fidelity,  and  attention  of  the  judges  of  the 
Court  of  Appeals,  I  cannot  omit  the  opportunity  of  request 
ing  your  assistance  in  a  matter  that  concerns  the  honor  of 
your  State  and  the  welfare  of  the  Union.  Since  the  begin 
ning  of  November  last  your  State  has  been  unrepresented 
in  Congress.  I  have  frequently  written  to  the  President 
[of  Delaware]  ;  but  whether  my  letters  have  failed  to  reach 
him,  or  from  his  living  out  of  the  way  of  the  post  his  an 
swers  have  miscarried,  or  from  some  other  cause  I  know 
not,  I  have  never  received  an  answer  to  any  of  my  letters. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  399 

"The  present  situation  of  public  affairs  requires  a  full 
representation  in  Congress  of  all  the  States ;  I  must  there 
fore  request  that  you  would  exert  your  influence  in  urging 
the  attendance  of  your  delegates  as  speedily  as  possible. 

"  I  have  further  to  observe  that  Congress,  by  an  act  of    s 
27th  May  last,  required  'the  Legislatures  of  the  several  ' 
States  to  cause  the  services  of  the  agents  appointed  for  the 
purpose  of  receiving  and  distributing  the  certificates  of  the 
Paymaster-General,  in  a  final  settlement  of  the  balances 
due  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  their  respective  lines,  to  be 
examined,  and  make  them  such  allowance  as   they  may 
thinkrthem  entitled  to,  and  charge  the  same  to  the  United 
States.' 

"On  the  7th  of  June,  1785,  they  passed  an  act  recom 
mending  to  the  several  States  to  make  provision  for  officers, 
soldiers,  or  seamen  who  have  been  disabled  in  the  service 
of  the  United  States,  in  a  manner  pointed  out  in  the  act. 
And  by  an  act  of  the  27th  July,  1785,  they  directed  the 
Secretary  of  Congress  to  apply  to  '  the  executives  of  the 
several  States  for  thirteen  copies  of  the  legislative  acts 
thereof  since  the  1st  September,  1784,  one  copy  of  which  to 
be  retained,  for  the  use  of  Congress,  and  one  set  to  be  de 
livered  to  the  delegates  of  each  State  (except  the  State 
whose  acts  are  delivered),  for  the  use  of  the  Legislature 
thereof;'  and  at  the  same  time  they  directed  the  Secretary 
to  procure  and  distribute,  in  the  same  way,  the  acts  which 
might  thereafter  be  passed,  to  the  end  that  every  State, 
being  thus  informed,  may  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  the 
other  States,  and  derive  tlie  advantages  which  may  result 
from  the  joint  wisdom  of  the  whole. 

"On  the  27th  November,  1785,  they  made  a  requisition 
on  the  States  for  the  payment  of  the  interest  of  the  foreign 
and  domestic  debt  and  for  the  services  of  that  year.  On  the 
30th  September  they  passed  an  act  regulating  the  office  of 
the  Commissioners  of  the  Continental  Loan  Offices  in  the 
several  States,  making  it  part  of  their  duty  to  receive  the 
moneys  arising  from  Continental  taxes  in  their  respective 
States,  and  to  pay  the  interest  due  from  the  United  States 
in  the  said  States  respectively;  and  in  the  said  act  recom 
mended  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  several  States  to  direct 
their  treasurers  to  transmit  to  the  Board  of  Treasury  a 
monthly  abstract  of  all  moneys  paid  on  account  of  the  re- 


400  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

spective  States  to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Continental 
Loan  Offices,  distinguishing  the  dates  and  the  amounts  of 
payments,  and  the  sums  paid  in  actual  money  from  these  in 
interest  certificates. 

"And  on  the  12th  October,  1785,  they  passed  a  resolution 
earnestly  calling  on  the  States  to  complete,  without  delay, 
the  whole  of  their  quotas  of  the  requisitions  of  4th  Septem 
ber,  1782,  and  27th  and  28th  of  August,  1784,  and  requiring 
such  of  the  States  as  were  deficient  in  paying  their  respective 
quotas  of  the  interest  of  the  domestic  debt,  pursuant  to  the 
said  requisitions,  to  collect  and  pay  into  the  public  treasury 
the  amount  of  such  deficiencies,  either  in  certificates,  to  be 
issued  pursuant  to  the  requisition  of  the  27th  of  September, 
for  payment  of  the  said  interest,  or  in  specie,  to  be  applied 
to  the  redemption  of  such  certificates ;  providing,  neverthe 
less,  that  the  sum  to  be  paid  into  the  treasury  in  interest 
certificates,  as  part  of  the  requisition  of  April,  1784,  shall 
not  at  any  time  exceed  the  proportion  of  facilities  to  be  paid, 
agreeably  to  that  requisition. 

"These  several  acts  I  transmitted  to  the  President,  but 
have  received  no  answer;  I  have  therefore  to  request  the 
favor  of  you  to  use  your  endeavors  that  I  may  have  an 
answer  to  the  several  transmissions.  The  best  answer  will 
be  the  acts  of  the  Legislature  complying  with  the  recom 
mendations,  acts,  and  requisitions. 

"  It  is  my  earnest  wish  therefore  that  you  would  exert 
your  interest  and  abilities — both  which  I  know  are  great — 
in  prevailing  with  the  Legislature  to  pass  laws  as  speedily 
as  possible,  in  compliance  and  conformity  with  those  several 
acts,  if  they  have  not  already  done  it,  and  then  to  use  your 
interest  in  having  them  forwarded,  that  I  may  make  report 
thereof  to  Congress. 

"  I  shall  be  still  further  obliged  if,  with  these  laws,  you 
can  have  the  thirteen  copies  sent  on  which  are  mentioned 
in  the  act  of  the  27th  July,  1785. 

"  I  should  not  be  thus  troublesome  were  I  not  convinced 
of  your  zeal  in  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  your  ardent  desire 
to  preserve  the  honor  and  promote  the  happiness  of  this 
infant  Commonwealth.  This,  I  hope,  will  be  my  apology. 

"  I  am,  with  sincere  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient 
and  most  humble  servant, 

"  CHARLES  THOMSON. 

"Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  401 

That  the  confidence  of  the  Secretary  of  Congress  in  Mr. 
Read's  patriotism  was  not  misplaced  appears  by  his  letter 
to  President  Van  Dyke,  as  follows : 

"NEW  CASTLE,  25th  March,  1786. 

"  SIR, — The  Secretary  of  Congress  having  occasion  to 
transmit  to  me  a  resolution  of  that  body  relative  to  the 
judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  addressed  me  also  on  the 
total  want  of  a  representation  from  this  State  in  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States,  from  the  beginning  of  last  No 
vember,  stating  that  the  public  affairs  presently  required  a 
full  representation  there  of  all  the  States.  The  Secretary's 
letter  to  me  is  dated  the  1st  inst.  I  received  it  on  the 
evening  of  the  7th,  and  the  person  who  brought  it  from  the 
post-office  in  Wilmington  to  me  told  me  he  had  letters 
directed  to  your  Excellency  from  the  same  place,  which  he 
should  immediately  deliver  to  Mr.  Secretary  Booth.  As  I 
apprehended  one  of  them  was  from  the  Secretary  of  Con 
gress,  I  have  delayed  writing  to  you  on  the  subject  of  our 
delegates'  attendance,  supposing  that  ere  this  your  Excel 
lency  would  have  prevailed  on  some  two  of  the  five  mem 
bers  of  that  delegation  to  have  gone  forward  to  New  York ; 
but,  on  inquiring,  I  am  told  it  is  not  so.  As  I  am  clearly 
of  opinion  that  your  Excellency,  as  the  head  of  the  Execu 
tive  Department  in  the  State,  hath  a  superintendency  over 
all  the  subordinate  departments  therein,  I  would  submit  to 
your  Excellency's  consideration  whether  an  authoritative 
call  upon  those  presently  in  the  delegation  of  this  State  to 
perform  that  duty  or  resign  their  appointment  ought  not  to 
be  made  by  you,  with  an  intimation  that  if  your  requisition 
should  not  be  attended  to,  that  you  must  officially  state 
their  delay  or  refusal  to  the  General  Assembly  at  their  next 
sitting.  All  this  done  might  have  a  proper  effect,  and  if 
not,  your  duty  therein  would  be  performed. 

"The  complaint  of  the  last  year,  as  contained  in  your 
Excellency's  message  of  the  23d  of  May,  does  not  seem  to 
be  remedied  by  an  increase  of  members  in  the  delegation  to 
Congress,  for  near  five  months  of  the  twelve  have  passed 
over  without  any  attendance  there,  and  it  will  not  be  bet 
tered  till  local  politics  in  such  nomination  shall  be  laid 
aside,  and  a  State  policy  adopted  in  stead  thereof. 

"  Secretary  Thomson's  letter  also  mentions  some  acts  of 


402  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

Congress  as  transmitted  to  your  Excellency,  but  as  lie  has 
received  no  answer,  he  doubts  a  miscarriage  of  either  yours 
or  his  letters.  The  first  is  an  act  of  Congress  of  the  27th  of 
May  last,  requesting  a  legislative  provision  to  be  made  in 
favor  of  the  agent  for  receiving  and  distributing  final  settle 
ment  certificates  of  balances  due  to  the  officers  and  soldiers ; 
the  second,  an  act  of  the  7th  June,  1785,  to  make  provision 
for  disabled  officers,  soldiers,  and  seamen.  The  first  seems 
to  have  been  provided  for  and  finally  acted^upon  the  19th 
January,  1785,  as  per  votes  of  Assembly  then,  pp.  27,  28. 
The  second,  I  suppose,  was  considered  as  fully  provided  for 
in  the  act  of  the  5th  February,  1785,  printed  by  Adams, 
p.  17.  A  third  act  of  Congress,  of  the  27th  July  last,  pro 
vides  for  thirteen  copies  of  the  legislative  acts  of  this  State 
since  the  1st  of  September,  1774,  being  transmitted  thereto ; 
this,  I  apprehend,  cannot  be  fully  complied  with  until  a  new 
edition  of  our  laws  shall  be  printed,  which  may  be  in  the 
course  of  the  year.  A  fourth  Congress  act  of  requisition  [is 
that]  of  the  27th  of  September  last,  to  enable  that  body  to 
make  payment  of  interest  on  the  foreign  debt.  This  busi 
ness  lies  before  the  Legislative  Council,  in  a  bill,  framed  for 
the  purpose  by  the  House  of  Assembly  at  their  last  sitting, 
and  postponed  for  want  of  necessary  information  as  to  the 
quantum  of  the  sum  sufficient  for  that  requisition  ;  and  the 
one  of  the  4th  of  September,  1782,  the  accounts  in  the  au 
ditor's  office  of  the  State  being  so  imperfect  and  incomplete 
that  it  could  not  be  known  if  any  surplus  there  was  of 
former  taxes,  to  be  applied  to  the  last,  which  it  is  hoped 
may  be  known  at  the  proposed  session  in  May.  This  post 
ponement  could  not  affect  the  raising  of  moneys  to  comply 
with  the  last  requisition,  of  the  27th  September,  1785,  as 
the  House  had  in  their  bill  fixed  the  payment  of  the  first 
quota  of  the  taxes  to  be  levied  thereby  to  the  month  of 
October  next.  A  fifth  act  of  Congress,  of  12th  October  last, 
earnestly  calls  on  the  States  to  complete,  without  delay,  the 
whole  of  their  quotas  of  the  requisitions  of  the  4th  of  Sep 
tember,  1782,  and  27th  and  28th  April,  1784.  As  to  the 
first  of  these,  I  know  of  no  provision  made  therefor,  but  I 
believe  it  to  have  been  the  intention  of  the  Council  to  have 
added  it  to  the  last  tax  bill  before  them,  mentioned  in  the 
preceding  page  of  this  [letter],  when  they  could  obtain  the 
information  there  alluded  to.  As  to  that  act  of  Congress 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  403 

of  April,  1784,  it  was  completely  provided  for  by  a  draft  of 
the  General  Assembly  for  two  thousand  pounds,^  or  thirty- 
two  thousand  dollars,  so  long  since  as  January  or  February, 
1783,  as  appears  by  the  printed  votes  of  the  House  of  As 
sembly  then  ;  and,  secondly,  by  the  act  of  Assembly  of  the 
26th  of  June,  1784,  pages  4  and  10,  in  which  last  page  it  is 
declared  that  the  State  Treasurer  shall  not,  on  any  pretence 
whatsoever,  apply  any  part  of  the  moneys  directed  by  that 
act  to  be  paid  into  his  hands  until  the  remaining  sum  of 
that  quota — viz.,  twenty-four  thousand  and  forty-two  dol 
lars  and  five-tenths — should  be  paid  to  the  use  of  the  United 
States.  Now  it  appears  that  considerably  more  than  this 
last  sum  has  been  paid  into  the  Delaware  State  Treasury 
by  the  county  collectors  of  New  Castle  and  Kent  only.  By 
the  Delaware  tax  act  of  the  21st  of  June,  1783,  provision 
therein  was  also  made  for  the  twenty-eight  thousand  dollars 
requested  by  Congress  in  the  requisition  of  16th  October, 
1782;  so  that  it  appears  eighty-four  thousand  dollars  and 
upwards  thus  has  long  since  been  provided  for  by  this  State. 
It  appeared  by  the  United  States  Treasury  account,  laid 
before  the  Assembly  at  their  last  sitting  by  your  Excellency, 
that  this  State's  credit  thereon,  on  the  30th  October  last, 
was  less  than  twenty-three  thousand  dollars,  but  where  the 
delinquency  was  could  not  be  certainly  known,  from  the 
imperfect  state  of  the  accounts  in  the  auditor's  office  about 
the  end  of  the  session  of  January  last. 

'•'Thus  I  have  gone  through  the  general  matters  in  Secre 
tary  Thomson's  letter,  with  observations  thereon,  as  I  stand 
informed,  and  I  hope  I  shall  be  excused  by  your  Excellency 
for  troubling  you  on  this  occasion.  The  business  has  been 
pressed  upon  me,  and  few  men  have  less  time  to  devote  to 
matters  of  this  kind  [than  I  have],  and  very  few  less  in 
clination.  But  I  consider  Congress  in  a  most  delicate  situ 
ation  at  present.  Much  of  it  appears  from  their  commit 
tee's  address  in  the  House  of  Assembly  in  New  Jersey.  En 
ergy  is,  apparently,  wanting  through  most  departments  in 
all  the  States,  but  the  want  of  it  is  more  conspicuous  in 
some  than  others.  The  money  business  of  our  own  State 
is  much  deranged,  and  it  really  appears  as  if  it  must  be  so. 
All  the  provisions  and  resolutions  respecting  it  seem  to  be 
of  little  use.  Few  mind  or  obey  them ;  and  unless  the  Ex- 


404  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

ecutive  exerts  itself  towards  their  execution,  it  will  be  need 
less  to  make  any  more. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  great  respect,  yours, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"  President  VAN  DYKE." 

To  (this  letter  President  Van  Dyke  replied  as  follows  : 

"SiR, — Your  letter  of  the  25th  of  last  month  was  deliv 
ered  to  me  on  yesterday,  and  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you 
for  the  trouble  you  have  taken  in  furnishing  me  with  the 
communications  therein  contained,  [and]  also  for  the  pam 
phlet  which  accompanied  the  letter. 

a  I  feel  myself  happy  in  having  an  opportunity  of  making 
you  acquainted  with  the  part  I  have  acted  in  the  business 
of  the  representation  of  the  State  in  Congress.  You  are  not 
ignorant  that  Congress  some  time  past  directed  their  Secre 
tary  to  make  monthly  returns  to  the  States  of  the  repre 
sentation  in  Congress.  I  have  regularly  received  such,  and 
as  regularly  furnished  the  same  to  the  General  Assembly 
on  the  receipt  thereof.  In  the  recess  of  the  two  Houses  I 
have  regularly  made  the  delegates  acquainted  with  the  call 
of  Congress,  and  urged  their  attendance  by  arguments  which 
appeared  to  me  most  likely  to  have  effect;  and  in  so  doing 
I  considered  that  I  had  performed  my  duty,  and  exercised 
all  the  power  of  which  I  was  possessed  in  this  business. 
Had  I  undertaken  to  call  on  them  in  the  manner  you  men 
tion,  they  doubtless  would  have  considered  me  officious  and 
desirous  of  exercising  a  power  to  which  I  had  no  preten 
sions.  This  must  have  been  the  case  on  consideration  that 
they  receive  their  appointment  from  the  General  Assembly, 
are  removable  by  that  body,  and  are  consequently  account 
able  to  them  only;  and  the  information  on  this  subject, 
regularly  laid  before  the  General  Assembly,  removes  every 
color  of  necessity  that  the  President  should  table  a  com 
plaint  in  the  case. 

"As  to  the  other  officers  of  government,  they  are  (with 
a  very  few  exceptions)  appointed  in  a  similar  manner,  and 
under  the  same  control,  holding  their  offices  during  good 
behavior,  or  for  a  certain  time,  fixed,  and  removable  only 
on  conviction  of  malconduct  in  office,  which  in  most  cases 
must  take  place  in  a  court  of  law.  I  consider  them,  for  the 


OF  GEOEGE   HEAD.  405 

reasons  aforesaid,  totally  unaccountable  to  the  Executive. 
From  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  President  who  might  be 
imprudent  enough  to  interfere  further,  or  so  desirous  of 
exercising  a  power  (which  must  be  only  a  constructive  or 
implied  power),  very  soon  would  find  that  no  good  could 
result  to  the  State,  and  that  disgust  and  much  trouble  would 
certainly  be  his  reward. 

"  In  the  same  manner  I  consider  those  persons  handling 
public  money,  and  for  similar  reasons.  The  executive 
branch  in  this  State  have  naught  to  do  with  money  mat 
ters,  unless  expressly  empowered  by  the  acts  or  resolutions 
of  the  General  Assembly.  In  these  instances  I  have  ever 
paid  an  early  attention  to  the  business  thus  assigned  me. 

"  Previous  to  the  late  sessions  of  Assembly,  and  since,  I 
have  received  sundry  letters  and  acts  of  Congress  from 
their  Secretary,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  they  have  been 
all  regularly  received  which  were  forwarded  by  the  Secre 
tary.  The  first  are  now  with  the  Legislature,  and  the 
others  will  be  presented  at  their  next  meeting.  The  reason 
I  did  not  write  that  gentleman  before  the  last  sessions  was 
the  desire  to  procure  copies  of  sundry  acts,  in  order  to 
transmit  them,  and  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  forward  some 
information  on  the  business  of  the  requisition  for  '85.  My 
sickness  at  and  after  my  return  home  from  Dover  has  been 
the  cause  of  delay  until  some  time  in  the  last  month.  An 
expectation  of  being  enabled  to  write  more  fully  from  New 
Castle,  in  the  course  of  next  week,  has  caused  delay. 

"  Thirteen  copies  of  the  laws  of  the  State  cannot  be  pro 
cured  until  the  new  edition  comes  out.  Great  complaints 
are  daily  made  of  the  delay  in  this  business. 

"  I  fully  agree  with  you  that  a  State  policy  in  appoint 
ments  would  be  very  beneficial ;  but,  sir,  you  must  consider 
that  the  effecting  this,  as  also  the  proposed  regular  conduct 
ing  money  matters,  is  a  work  of  time.  Young  States  may 
be  compared  to  young  men,  who  generally  are  ignorant  in 
the  business  of  managing  their  property  advantageously,  at 
least  for  some  years  after  they  become  masters  of  it.  As 
no  individual  becomes  wise  at  once,  neither  did  any  State 
or  government  ever  arrive  to  a  considerable  degree  of 
perfection  in  jurisprudence  or  internal  policy  in  a  short 
time. 

"  The  hands  of  Congress  are  too  weak,  and  their  situation 


406  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

is  and  frequently  has  been  very  difficult.  Time  and  expe 
rience  will  remedy  these  Federal  embarrassments.  It  is  not 
to  be  admired  at  that  these  States  proceed  with  cautious 
steps  in  delegating  power.  This  i  has  been  carried  to  an 
extreme  by  some  States,  but  this  will  be  got  over ;  and  the 
sooner  Congress,  by  their  conduct,  give  evidence  of  economy 
and  wisdom,  the  sooner  will  they  be  intrusted  with  all 
necessary  power,  and  be  better  furnished  with  money, 
ways,  and  means  to  support  the  credit  of  the  Federal  gov 
ernment. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  esteem,  your  very  obedient  servant, 

"  NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE.* 

"  7th  April,  1786. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 

It  seems  to  me  Mr.  Read  recommended  to  President  Van 
Dyke  no  assumption  of  power  proper  to  another  department 
of  government;  but  only  that  he  should  exert  more  vigor 
ously  the  undoubted  executive  duty  of  superintendence, 
which  he  had,  according  to  his  own  letter,  already  exercised 
in  a  less  degree  and  in  vain  over  these  delinquent  public 
servants. 

I  am  free,  however,  to  admit  that  Mr.  Read  was  of  the 
class  of  statesmen  formed  in  the  school  of  the  Revolution, 
accustomed  to  brave,  without  waiting  to  calculate  the  effect 
upon  self,  the  responsibility  of  exercising  with  promptitude 
and  energy  even  a  power  which  might  be  questioned,  when 
necessary  to  save  the  Commonwealth  from  danger  or  dis 
credit,  while  statesmen  less  daring  and  unselfish  would 
pause  upon  the  confines  of  different  departments  of  govern- 

*  "  Died  at  his  farm,  in  St.  George's  Hundred,  on  the  19th  instant, 
after  a  short  illness,  in  the  fifty-first  year  of  his  age,  Nicholas  Van 
Dyke,  Esquire,  late  President  of  the  Delaware  State,  leaving  a  wife  and 
numerous  family  to  lament  their  irreparable  loss.  The  virtues  of  can 
dor,  prudence,  and  benevolence  were  highly  conspicuous  in  his  character, 
in  the  public  and  honorable  offices  with  which  he  was  invested  by  his 
fellow-citizens  as  well  as  in  the  duties  of  domestic  retirement.  In  his 
conduct  he  showed  such  a  regard  to  civil  and  religious  society  as  in  a 
high  degree  attracted  general  respect  and  esteem.  In  him  the  State 
has  lost  a  steady  patriot,  his  acquaintance  a  faithful  friend,  his  family 
a  most  indulgent  husband,  a  fond  father,  and  a  humane  master.  To 
the  friends  of  virtue  and  religion  who  knew  him  his  memory  will  be 
long  precious." — Delaware  Gazette,  published  at  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
Saturday,  February  28th,  1789,  No.  194. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  407 

ment,  which,  in  the  most  nicely  adjusted  systems  of  polity, 
like  the  colors  of  the  rainbow,  so  run  into  each  other  as  to 
make  it  difficult  to  determine  where  one  ends  and  the  other 
begins. 

Mr.  Read,  deeply  sensible  of  the  manifold  evils  of  the 
imbecile  Federal  government,  could  not  have  been  much 
consoled  by  the  barren  generalities,  and  a  parallel  partaking 
more  of  fancy  than  of  fact,  of  the  President's  letter.  Time, 
from  which  he  hoped  so  much,  can  do  nothing  for  us,  though 
in  it  we  must  do  all  we  have  to  do  and  in  it  must  happen 
all  that  is  to  befall  us.  The  President  had  a  vague  and 
dreamy  expectation  of  something,  he  could  not  tell  what, 
that  was  to  turn  up,  he  could  not  tell  when,  and  set  all 
right  in  a  community  in  which  he  could  not  deny  there 
was  much  that  was  wrong.* 

Mr.  Read  replied  to  Secretary  Thomson's  letter  of  March 
1st,  1786,  as  follows: 

"NEW  CASTLE,  8th  April,  1786. 

"  SIR, — -From  the  length  of  time  since  I  received  your  ad 
dress  of  the  first  of  March  last,  you  may  very  reasonably 
suspect  that  inattention  and  neglect  pervade  all  the  citizens 
of  this  State ;  however,  certain  circumstances,  which  might 
be  too  tritiing,  or  at  least  too  unentertaining  to  set  down 
here,  were  the  cause  of  this  delay  of  answer;  with  your 
own  declaration,  '  that  the  acts  of  the  Legislature,  comply 
ing  with  the  several  recommendations,  acts,  and  requisi 
tions  of  Congress,  would  be  the  best  answer/ 

"Immediately  on  receiving  your  address,  above  [men 
tioned],  I  wrote  to  President  Van  Dyke,  affording  him  every 
information  in  my  power,  to  enable  him  to  give  you  some 
satisfactory  account  of  what  had  been  done  by  the  Legis 
lature  of  the  State  on  the  several  acts  of  Congress,  men 
tioned  in  yours  to  have  been  transmitted  to  him ;  and  as  I 

« 

\ 

*  "  The  continent  was  divided  into  two  great  political  parties,  the 
one  of  which  contemplated  America  as  a  nation  and  labored  incessantly 
to  invest  the  Federal  head  with  powers  competent  to  the  preservation 
of  the  Union;  the  other  attached  itself  to  the  State  authorities,  viewed 
all  the  powers  of  Congress  with  jealousy,  and  assented  reluctantly  to 
measures  which  would  enable  the  head  to  act  in  any  respect  independ 
ently  of  its  members." — Mar  shall1  s  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  p.  33. 
To  the  last  mentioned  of  these  parties,  I  conclude,  from  President  Van 
Dyke's  letter,  he  belonged. 


408  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

had  his  answer,  some  time  after,  I  am  to  presume  that  you 
have  heard  fully  from  him  long  ere  now.  But  as  it  may 
have  happened,  as  heretofore,  that  the  acts  of  our  Legislature, 
relative  to  the  immediate  demands  of  Congress,  may  not 
have  been  transmitted  to  you  before,  I  send  you  the  in 
closed  printed  copy.  The  first  act  of  Assembly,  making 
provision  for  this  State's  quota  of  the  eight  millions  of  dol 
lars  of  1781,  and  of  two  millions  of  dollars  of  1782,  hath  a 
provision  therein,  to  wit :  in  its  twenty-first  section,  which 
I  think  requisite  to  explain,  for  a  reason  that  will  appear 
hereafter.  You  may  recollect  that  Congress  in  their  requi 
sition  of  the  28th  of  April,  1784,  for  a  moiety  of  the  eight 
millions  aforesaid,  said  that  the  several  States  might  so 
model  the  collection  of  the  sums  called  for  that  the  three- 
fourths  being  paid  in  actual  money,  the  other  fourth  might 
be  discharged  by  procuring  discounts  of  interest  with  the 
domestic  creditors  of  the  United  States;  and  for  that  end 
the  loan  officer  of  the  State  should  issue  certificates  for  the 
amount  of  interest  due,  as  well  on  loan  office  certificates  as 
on  certificates  of  other  liquidated  debts  of  the  United  States, 
to  the  end  of  the  year  1782,  and  that  the  same  should  be 
receivable,  first  from  the  bearer  within  the  State,  and  after, 
from  the  State  into  the  public  treasury,  in  the  proportion 
aforesaid.  In  pursuance  of  this  requisition  the  Legislature 
of  this  State,  in  their  act  of  Assembly  of  the  26th  June, 
1784,  making  provision  by  taxation  for  a  compliance  there 
with,  enacted :  *  That  for  the  ease  and  convenience  of 
paying  the  aforesaid  tax,  such  citizens  of  the  State  as  had 
obtained  certificates  from  the  Continental  loan  office 
thereof,  for  moneys  lent  to  Congress,  and  every  citizen  of 
the  State  who  had  any  liquidated  debts  against  the  United 
States,  might  produce  their  certificates  to  the  Continental 
loan  officer  of  the  State,  and  obtain  from  him  a  certificate 
of  the  interest  due  to  the  last  of  the  year  1782?  wkich  cer 
tificates  the  loan  officer  was  thereby  required  to  give,  con 
formable  to  such  instructions  as  he  should  receive  from  the 
Superintendent  [of  Finance],  the  which  last-mentioned  cer 
tificates  should  be  receivable  by  the  collectors  of  each 
county  of  the  State,  on  account  of  the  sums  of  money  to  be 
raised  by  the  said  act,  and  that  the  collectors  should  pay 
the  same,  in  lieu  of  so  much  lawful  money,'  as  per  the 
seventeenth  section  of  the  printed  act,  which  the  treasury 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  409 

office  hath  by  my  transmission  to  the  superintendent  soon 
after  the  passing,  if  not  in  your  office  presently.  After  the 
passage  of  this  act  the  then  Continental  loan  officer,  Gen 
eral  Patterson,  declined,  for  a  time,  to  perform  this  duty, 
on  pretext  that  the  State  had  made  him  no  special  allow 
ance  therefor,  and  no  such  interest-certificates  were  issued 
by  him  until  the  latter  end  of  November,  1784,  following; 
however,  being  then  pressed  on  the  business,  he  proceeded 
therein,  rather  backwardly,  at  times.  After  a  tedious  ill 
ness  General  Patterson  died,  in  or  about  the  month  of  May, 

1785,  leaving  part  of  this  business  of  issuing  interest-certifi 
cates  undone, — with  this  that  divers  of  the  taxables  of  the 
State,  particularly  of  New  Castle  County,  had  not  got  their 
claims  finally  ascertained  by  Colonel   Winder,  the   Conti 
nental  commissioner,  or  his  certificates  therefor  until  after 
Patterson's  death,  upon  divers  of  which  one,  two,  or  per 
haps  more,  years  of  interest  were  due  at  the  end  of  the 
year  1782.     Some  time  intervened  until  the  Congress  ap 
pointment  of  Dr.  James  Tilton  as  their  loan  officer  of  the 
State,  and  he  uniformly  refusing  to  issue  any  such  interest- 
certificates  in  favor  of  those  taxables  who  had  not  obtained 
theirs  in  Patterson's  time,  alleging  that  he  was  not  in 
structed,  or  instructed  not  so  to  do,  by  the  Board  of  Treas 
ury  ;  complaints  of  such  refusal,  therefore,  gave  rise  to  the 
said  twenty-first  section  in  our  act  of  the  24th  of  June, 

1786,  aforesaid.     And  as  I  have  an  application,  lately  made 
to  me,  from  the  collector  of  New  Castle  County,  alleging 
that  Dr.  Tilton  yet  refuses  to  issue  interest-certificates  to 
the  end  of  the  year  1782  in  favor  of  those  taxables, — many, 
if  not  all  of  them,  the  original  creditors  of  the  United 
States ;  and  that  he,  the  collector,  cannot,  in  justice  to  such 
taxables,  compel  a  total  payment  by  them  in  cash, — he 
wished  me  to  make  some  representation  where  this  might 
finally  be  determined  upon ;  and  not  thinking  myself  war 
ranted  to  address  the  Board  of  Treasury  hereon,  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  of  stating  the  matter  to  you,  as  you  seemed  to 
afford  me  an  opening  by  your  address  on  the  public  business 
of  the  State.     The  question,  therefore,  is  shortly  this:  '  Are 
the  taxables  of  this  State  holders  either  of  loan  office  cer 
tificates,  or  of  liquidated  debts  of  the  United  States,  whereof 
any  interest  was  due  on  the  last  day  of  the  year  1782,  or 
are  they  not  entitled  to  demand  and  have  certificates  for 

27 


410  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

such  their  interest  due  at  that  time,  as  well  under  the  faith 
of  the  aforesaid  act  of  Congress  of  the  28th  of  April,  1 784,  as 
under  the  State  act  of  Assembly,  made  in  conformity  thereto 
in  the  June  following,  from  the  present  loan  officer,  Dr.  Til- 
ton,  as  they  might  from  the  late  loan  officer,  General  Patter 
son,  was  he  living?'  This  is  simply  the  question,  and  I  appre 
hend  it  a  necessary  one  to  be  solved  by  the  Board  of  Treasury, 
as  I  am  "informed  by  the  New  Castle  County  collector  afore 
said  that  there  are  near  two  thousand  dollars  due  for  such 
interest  to  his  wanting  taxables,  under  the  act  of  1784,  and 
that  the  present  commissioner  of  the  loan  office  yet  refuses 
to  issue  other  certificates  than  those  directed  under  the 
Congress  act  of  September,  1785,  which  are  only  receivable 
in  taxes  agreeably  to  that  particular  requisition,  and  so 
will  not  answer  the  end  of  paying  their  parts  of  the  tax 
under  the  requisition  of  1784,  which  the  taxables  aforesaid 
conceive  in  good  faith  they  are  entitled  unto ;  and  I  do  ap 
prehend  this  act  of  refusal  may  produce  difficulties  when 
the  Legislature  of  this  State  shall  take  up  the  business  of 
providing  for  the  Congress  requisition  of  1786.  This  State's 
proportion  of  facilities,  under  the  act  of  1784,  was  fourteen 
thousand  dollars ;  no  more  than  ten  thousand  and  eleven 
dollars — sixty-nine-ninetieths — have  been  received,  so  that 
there  are  near  four  thousand  dollars  short  of  the  admissible 
sum,  of  which  there  may  be  about  two  thousand  dollars 
due  to  persons  circumstanced  as  before  stated;  so  that  the 
State  or  its  taxables  will  not  have  the  amount  of  facilities 
allowed  them  to  offer,  and  of  course  pay  the  rest  in  actual 
money.  I  have  heard  the  reason  from  the  loan  officer,  Dr. 
Tilton, — that  he  thought  he  ought  not  to  issue  any  [in 
terest-certificates  aforesaid],  for  that  the  money  already  paid 
into  the  Continental  treasury  did  not  equal  the  proportion 
of  indents  or  facilities  received, — to  which  this  answer  was 
given:  That  although  this  was  a  reason  why  he,  as  the 
Continental  receiver  of  the  State,  might  refuse  to  accept  of 
any  more  facilities  from  the  treasurer  of  the  State  until 
there  should  be  an  excess  of  money  payments,  yet  it  was 
not  a  reason  for  him,  as  the  loan  officer  of  the  State,  to  refuse 
the  issuing  such  certificates  for  interest,  as  that  issuing 
could  not  increase  the  proportion  allowed  by  Congress,  as 
he  was  neither  obliged  nor  bound  in  duty  to  receive  beyond 
that  proportion ;  whereas  a  refusal  to  issue  was  a  breach  of 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  411 

the  faith  of  Congress,  held  up  in  their  requisition,  and  in 
defiance  of  the  act  of  the  State,  founded  on  that  requisition. 
Moreover,  that  those  wanting  taxables  were  thus  hardly 
treated  by  the  neglect  of  right  application  of  the  moneys 
actually  received  by  the  commissioner  of  the  loan  office, 
and  who  then  happened  to  be  the  treasurer  of  the  State, 
to  other  purposes  than  the  one  expressly  declared  in  that 
law  of  1784,  in  the  twelfth  section  thereof,  to  wit:  that  of 
paying  to  Congress  their  proportion  of  the  moneys  directed 
to  be  levied  thereby,  in  the  first  instance,  in  preference  to 
all  other  drafts  or  orders  whatsoever. 

"This  business,  and  question  thereon,  1  recommend  to 
your  notice,  that  it  may  be  discussed  and  acted  upon  before 
the  next  session  of  Assembly,  in  the  latter  end  of  October, 
that  no  unnecessary  obstacles  may  be  thrown  in  the  way 
of  obtaining  a  provision  for  the  Congress  requisition  of 
1786. 

"As  to  the  delegation  from  this  State,  truly  my  feelings 
are  much  hurt.  1  have  no  personal  interest  with  those  in 
the  appointment,  which  I  have  been  made  fully  satisfied  of, 
for,  although  I  have  both  publicly  arid  privately  remon 
strated  with  such  of  them  as  I  have  had  an  opportunity  of 
seeing  since  March  last,  and  pressed  it  warmly  on  the 
President  to  give  them  an  official  call  to  that  service,  with 
a  threat  to  state  their  refusal  to  the  General  Assembly  in  a 
formal  way,  by  special  message  for  the  purpose,  no  more 
than  a  three  weeks'  attendance  hath  been  procured,  and  I 
cannot  say  you  are  to  expect  more  in  this  year. 

"You  will  receive  with  this  my  acknowledgment  of  yours 
of  the  9th  of  February;  it  was  actually  wrote  at  its  date, 
and  was  kept  to  have  been  sent  with  the  answer  intended 
then  to  be  shortly  made  to  yours  of  the  first  of  March  afore 
said  ;  but  the  more  I  thought  upon  its  contents  and  my 
situation,  to  wit,  merely  that  of  a  private  man  within  the 
State,  other  than  having  a  seat  in  one  of  the  branches  of 
its  Legislature,  thus,  as  it  were,  necessarily  addressed  upon 
the  delinquency  of  public  men,  the  more  I,  doubted  of  the 
manner  of  my  answer.  Our  wants,  sir,  are  many,  and 
among  others,  that  of  efficient  men,  and  that  of  free  and 
truly  public  sentiment,  detached  from  local  and  personal 
prejudices,  to  exist  among  the  popular  leaders  in  the 
society,  and  more  energy  in  all  the  parts  and  persons  of 


412  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

government;  but,  as  the  Deity  may  at  some  time  supply 
these,  contentus  sum,  I  ought  now  to  beg  your  excuse  for 
this  long  and  tedious  address,  and  which  I  sincerely  do, 
and  am,  with  much  esteem  and  respect,  yours, 

"  GEORGE  KEAD. 
"Honorable  CHARLES  THOMSON." 

The  "plan  of  education"  mentioned  in  the  letter  of  John 
Dickinson,  which  follows,  has  not  been  preserved,  and  I 
regret  that  I  can  give  no  account  of  it.  The  letter  is  in 
teresting,  because  it  contains  the  opinion  of  this  eminent 
man  upon  the  question,  "Ought  governments  to  provide  or 
not  for  the  instruction  of  their  citizens  or  subjects  in  the 
doctrines  and  duties  of  the  Christian  religion?"  and  his  solu 
tion  of  the  problem,  "How  the  right  can  be  exercised,  and 
the  duty  performed,  without  infringing  liberty  of  conscience.' 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  am  much  obliged  to  you  for  your  favor  by 
Mr.  Shultz,  and  for  the  pieces  inclosed.  The  'plan  of  edu 
cation'  is,  I  believe,  very  well  digested,  though  I  should 
rather  approve  of  a  greater  number  of  Latin  authors  being 
read  by  the  classes.  The  letter  to  Mr.  Mason  pleases  me 
much,  but  does  not  appear  to  be  sufficiently  explicit  or 
guarded  on  a  point  of  such  immense  importance.  It  carries 
with  it  the  idea  of  levying  contributions  for  the  maintenance 
of  ministers  of  the  gospel  upon  all  persons  but  such  as  shall 
disclaim  the  general  religion  of  the  country.  But  there 
are  great  numbers  of  .Christians  who  regard  the  levying  of 
such  contributions  as  utterly  unjust  and  oppressive.  Let 
not  that  question  be  hastily,  perhaps  erroneously,  decided. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  the  duty  of  government,  with  the 
utmost  attention  and  caution,  to  promote  and  enforce  the 
sublime  and  beneficial  morality,  as  well  as  theology,  of 
Christianity;  and,  considering  them  as  connected  with  gov 
ernment,  how  can  this  be  done  better  than  by  employing 
men  of  wisdom,  piety,  and  learning  to  teach  it, — and  how 
can  they  be  so  employed  unless  they  are  properly  sup 
ported, — and  how  can  they  be  supported  but  by  the  gov 
ernment  that  employs  them?  Let  impositions  be  laid  for 
this  purpose.  If  any  man  conscientiously  scruples  their 
lawfulness,  let  him  be  permitted  to  appropriate  his  share  to 
the  use  of  the  poor,  or  any  other  public  service.  Thus 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  413 

government  would  strenuously  carry  on  the  grand  work  of 
teaching  virtue  and  religion,  without  offering  the  least 
violence  to  the  conscience  of  any  individual, — a  neglect  and 
contempt  of  which  last  sacred  right  has  been  the  disgrace 
and  curse,  and  will  infallibly  be  the  destruction,  of  every 
human  institution,  however  cunningly  devised,  on  this  mo 
mentous  subject. 

"  Mrs.  Dickinson  arid  Sallie  present  their  compliments  to 
you,  Mrs.,  and  Miss  Read.  They  will  be  very  happy  to  see 
you  next  week.  You  do  not  mention  your  daughter's' 
coming,  but  I  hope  she  will,  as  Mrs.  Dickinson  says  she 
will  have  a  room  for  her.  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  have  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  you,  being  under  an  indispensable  neces 
sity  of  setting  off  for  Kent  on  Monday. 

"I  am,  my  dear  sir,  your  ever  affectionate 

"Jonx  DICKINSON. 

"WILMINGTON,  April  28th,  1786." 

The  state  of  public  affairs  was  such  as  to  excite  great 
alarm  in  all  reflecting  and  patriotic  men, — worse  for  being 
indefinite.  Calamity  seemed  ready  to  overwhelm  the  country, 
but  its  precise  form  none  could  predict.  If  there  be  a  con 
dition  perilous  to  the  honor  of  communities  and  of  individ 
uals,  it  is  that  of  debt.  The  close  of  the  war  of  the  Revolu 
tion  left  all  in  this  unhappy  situation, — the  Confederacy, 
the  States,  their  citizens, — with  a  currency  so  depreciated 
as  to  be  almost  worthless,  and  their  resources  exhausted  by 
seven  years  of  hostilities.  Foreign  merchants,  on  the  open 
ing  of  the  American  ports  after  the  peace  of  1  783,  eagerly 
sought  the  market  they  offered  to  them.  Goods,  in  great 
quantities,  adapted  to  the  tastes  and  wants  of  the  day,  were 
imported  and  sold,  not  for  cash,  but  on  credit,  and  so  there 
was  an  increase  of  debt.  Land  became  almost  unsalable, 
personal  property  sold  for  a  song,  and  the  embarrassed  be 
came  desperate  and  reckless,  and  at  last  regarded  creditors 
as  common  enemies,  enforcing  claims  which  only  iron- 
hearted  and  merciless  men  would  enforce,  under  the  circum 
stances  of  the  times.  Indulgence,  the  debtors  might  have 
fairly  claimed,  but  too  many  of  them  improved  the  occasion 
to  defraud  their  honest  creditors.  The  embarrassed  men, 
being  in  the  majority,  shielded  themselves,  in  many  of  the 
States,  by  legislation,  from  the  forced  payment  of  their 


414  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

debts.  The  miserable  shifts  of  an  issue  of  paper  money,  or 
a  suspension  of  all  taxes,  were  in  some  States  resorted  to ; 
personal  property,  at  an  appraised  value,  might  be  ten 
dered,  in  others,  in  payment  of  debts,  or  the  recovery  of 
them  was  prevented  by  closing  the  courts.  Two  great 
parties  divided  the  American  people;  the  one  held  the  in 
violability  of  contracts  to  be  the  dictate  no  less  of  policy 
than  of  justice,  and  that  by  their  stern  enforcement  men 
would  be  taught  to  look  for  relief  from  distress,  not  to 
empirical  legislation,  but  to  labor  and  economy,  and  be 
restrained  from  imprudent  engagements  which  would  be 
recklessly  entered  into  if  there  might  be  escape  from  their 
obligations.  Men  of  this  party  paid  their  debts,  and 
thought  others  should  pay  theirs,  and  the  courts  be  always 
open  to  compel  them,  if  they  neglected  or  refused  to  do  so. 
They  thought  also  that  States  should  be  as  true  to  their 
plighted  faith  as  their  citizens,  and  should  be  provided  with 
means  to  promptly  pay  all  demands  upon  their  treasuries, 
by  annual  taxation,  justly  apportioned  and  punctually  col 
lected.  The  other  party  had  no  pity  but  for  debtors,  in 
their  eyes  the  most  oppressed  of  men.  As  the  collection  of 
debts  was,  in  their  opinion,  cruel,  in  the  then  condition  of 
the  country,  they  looked  with  favor  upon  stay-laws,  the 
closing  of  courts,  and  suspension  of  taxation,  and,  being  so 
indulgent  to  others,  it  may  be  reasonably  concluded  were 
equally  so  to  themselves,  and  their  standard  of  morality  be 
insensibly  lowered.  The  first  party  desired  a  national  gov 
ernment,  so  wisely  framed  and  so  strong  as  to  protect  all 
classes  and  interests,  and  confer  the  inestimable  boon  of 
general  and  abiding  harmony,  while  it  compelled  justice 
and  respect  from  foreign  governments.  They  thought  Con 
gress  a  safe  depository  of  power,  because  its  members  were 
elected,  for  short  terms,  by  the  people,  and  must  suffer 
equally,  from  bad  legislation,  with  themselves,  and  because 
they  had  the  strongest  motives  to  desire  and  to  cultivate 
popular  favor.  The  other  party  were  unreasonably  jealous 
of  Congress,  and  opposed  obstinately  all  attempts  to  vest 
this  body  with  the  power  it  wanted  and  which  experience 
had  shown  to  be  indispensable  to  an  efficient  national  gov 
ernment,  preferring  to  it  (and  such  delusion  we  can  scarcely 
believe)  the  attempt  to  govern  the  whole  people  by  thirteen 
independent  Legislatures,  who  had  so  often  brought  their 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  415 

country  to  the  brink  of  ruin  by  failing  to  adopt  measures 
the  most  necessary,  in  season,  or  at  all.  Foreign  govern 
ments  declined  negotiating  commercial  treaties  with  a  Con 
federacy  which  could  make  compacts  but  not  enforce  them, 
and  restraints  and  burdens  and  exclusions  were  laid  upon 
our  commerce  with  impunity,  for  Congress  wanted  power 
to  defeat  them  by  countervailing  measures.  Massachusetts 
was  in  open  rebellion.  Everywhere,  though  squalid  poverty 
was  rare,  thousands  were  suffering  the  slowly-wasting 
misery  of  straitened  circumstances;  dishonesty,  with  brazen 
front,  was  abroad,  and  fear  of  the  future  paled  the  cheek. 
But  there  were  still  men*  who  believed  that  the  state  of 
their  country  was  not  hopeless,  for  they  were  convinced 
that  God,  who  holds  the  helm  of  universal  rule,  would 
never  have  led  their  countrymen  to  independence  by  events 
so  remarkable  as  to  appear  to  some  persons  miraculous, 
only  to  demonstrate  the  impracticability  of  democratic  gov 
ernment.  It  was  a  noble  confidence,  and  was  soon  rewarded. 
From  a  measure  promising  no  important  and  extended 
result,  for  it  was  local  and  in  itself  insignificant,  came  the 
relief  so  anxiously  desired,  and  generally  so  faintly  expected. 
This  was  a  commission  of  citizens  of  Virginia  and  Maryland 
to  regulate  the  navigation  of  the  Potomac  and  Pokomoke 
Rivers,  and  part  of  the  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  trade  regula 
tions  of  these  States  having  been  inconvenient  and  injurious 
to  the  citizens  of  both.  From  it  resulted  the  appointment 
by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia  of  commissioners  "  to  meet 
such  as  might  be  appointed  by  other  States,  at  a  time  and 
place  to  be  agreed  upon,  to  consider  the  trade  of  the  United 
States,  to  examine  the  relative  situation  of  the  trade  of  the 
said  States,  to  consider  how  far  a  uniform  system  in  their 
commercial  relations  may  be  necessary  to  their  common 
interest  and  permanent  harmony,  and  to  report  to  the 
several  States  such  an  act,  relative  to  this  great  object,  as, 
when  unanimously  ratified  by  them,  will  enable  the  United 
States,  in  Congress  assembled,  to  provide  for  the  same." 
From  this  proposition  grew  the  convention  that  framed  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Read,  together  with  Jacob  Broom,  John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett,  and  Gunning  Bedford,  was  appointed  by 

*  One  of  them  was  John  Jay. 


416  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  Legislature  of  Delaware,  in  June,  1786,  to  meet  with 
the  commissioners  that  had  been  or  should  be  appointed  to 
consider  the  commercial  relations  of  the  several  States  and 
devise  and  report  to  Congress  a  system  for  the  regulation  of 
their  trade.* 

Congress  resolved,  in  February,  1786,  that,  as  the  war 
with  Great  Britain  had  ceased,  and  there  was  little  business 
in  the  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty  cases,  the  salaries  of 
its  judges  should  cease,  expressing  their  sense  of  the  ability, 
faith ful ness,  and  care  with  which  these  officers  had  discharged 
their  trust.  Mr.  Griffin,  one  of  Mr.  Read's  colleagues  in 
this  court,  in  his  letter  on  this  subject,  intimated  that  "  a 
little  party  business  predominated  in  the  passing  of  this 
resolution."  Congress  retained  this  court,  admitted  there 
was  some  business  remaining  before  it,  and  yet  made  no 
provision  for  paying  the  judges  for  disposing  of  it,  which 
they  must  have  expected  them  to  do.  Secretary  Thomson 
makes  known  to  Mr.  Read  a  subsequent  resolve  of  Congress 
in  this  matter  in  the  letter  which  follows : 

"OFFICE  OF  SECRETARY  OF  CONGRESS,  June  29th,  1786. 

"  SIR, — In  my  letter  of  the  5th  July  last  I  informed  you 
that  the  committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  letter  of  23d 
December,  1784,  from  Messrs.  Griffin  and  Lowell,  two  of 
the  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  reported  as  their  opinion 
'that  the  present  judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  were  still 
in  commission,  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  that  the 
Court  of  Appeals  should  remain  upon  its  establishment, 
except  with  respect  to  the  salaries  of  its  judges,  which 
should  cease  from  a  day  to  be  fixed  by  Congress,  and  that 
in  lieu  thereof  they  should  be  allowed  a  certain  number  of 
dollars  per  day  during  the  time  they  should  attend  the  sit 
tings  of  the  courts,  and  including  the  time  necessarily  em 
ployed  in  travelling  to  and  from  the  court ;'  that  Congress 
not  coming  to  a  determination  at  that  time,  the  report  was 
recommitted,  and  the  resolution  of  the  1st  of  July  was 
passed,  of  which  I  transmitted  you  a  copy,  whereby  the 
salaries  of  the  judges  were  stopped,  their  commissions  still 
remaining  in  force. 

"  I  have  now  the  honor  to  inform  you  that  in  consequence 

*  See  Appendix  D. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  417 

of  sundry  memorials  and  petitions  from  persons  claiming 
vessels  in  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  in  some  of  the  States 
praying  for  hearings  and  rehearings  before  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  have  been 
pleased  to  pass  the  resolution  herewith  inclosed,  authorizing 
and  directing  the  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  to  sustain 
appeals,  and  grant  rehearings  or  new  trials  wherever  justice 
and  right  may  in  their  opinion  require  it,  establishing  the 
allowance  to  be  made  to  the  judges,  and  directing  the  court 
to  assemble  at  the  city  of  New  York  on  the  first  Monday  of 
November  next. 

"  It  being  given  me  in  charge  to  take  order  for  the  pub 
lishing  of  these  resolutions  for  the  information  of  all  persons 
concerned,  I  have  ordered  copies  of  them  to  be  inserted  in 
the  newspapers  of  this  city,  with  a  request  to  the  printers 
of  the  several  States  to  republish  them  in  their  papers ;  but 
lest  any  of  them  should  fail,  I  have  transmitted  copies  of 
them  to  the  Supreme  Executive  of  the  several  States,  and 
have  requested  that  they  would  be  pleased  to  cause  them 
to  be  published  for  the  information  of  their  respective  citi 
zens.  I  shall  esteem  it  as  a  favor  if  you  will  take  such 
further  steps  as  you  shall  judge  necessary,  that  all  persons 
concerned  may  have  due  information. 

"  With  great  respect,  I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  most 
obedient  and  most  humble  servant, 

"CHARLES  THOMSON. 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Judge  of  the  Court  of 
Appeals." 

The  Secretary  of  Congress  again  wrote  to  Mr.  Read : 

"August  25th,  1786. 

"  SIR, — I  received  by  the  last  post,  and  had  the  honor  of 
communicating  to  the  United  States,  in  Congress  [assem 
bled],  your  two  letters  of  April  9th  and  August  19th.  The 
latter  is  referred  to  the  Board  of  Treasury  to  report,  so  that 
I  am  in  hopes  the  grounds  of  complaint  mentioned  will 
speedily  be  removed. 

u  With  great  respect,  I  am  your  most  obedient,  humble 
servant, 

"  CHARLES  THOMSON." 


418  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

The  rough  drafts  of  these  letters  of  Mr.  Read  have  not 
been  preserved.* 

The  journey  which  it  appears  from  the  following  letter 
Mr.  Read  and  his  friend  John  Dickinson  were  at  this  time 
about  to  make  was,  I  have  no  doubt,  to  Annapolis,  to  meet 
the  commissioners,  who  were  to  assemble  there  to  frame  a 
commercial  system  for  the  States. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Upon  reconsidering  the  plan  of  our  journey 
to  Maryland,  I  am  convinced  that  it  will  be  impracticable, 
or  at  least  inconvenient  and  disagreeable,  to  travel  from 
New  Castle  to  Chestertown  in  one  day.  It  seems  to  be 
much  more  advisable  that  on  the  evening  of  the  3d  of  next 
month  we  should  lodge  at  Cantwell's  Bridge  or  Middletown. 
The  next  day  we  may  reach  Chestertown — perhaps  Rock- 
hall.  Notice  can  be  given  to  Mr.  Bassett  of  this  alteration, 
and  our  baggage  may  go  by  stage,  as  before  proposed.  A 
line  to  Mr.  Kitchen  will  secure  good  beds.  Please  to 
favor  me  with  an  early  answer. 

"Your  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"WILMINGTON,  August  27th,  1786. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  reader  will,  I  suppose,  be  amused,  in  these  davs  of 
fast  travelling,  at  Mr.  Dickinson's  notion  of  the  impractica 
bility,  or  inconvenience  and  disagreeableness,  at  least,  of 
making  the  journey  from  New  Castle  to  Chestertown  in 
one  day.  The  distance  between  these  towns  is  about  fifty 
miles,  and  I  have  more  than  once  travelled  it  in  one  day, 
without  distressing  my  horse  or  inconveniencing  myself. 

Mr.  Griffin,  one  of  Mr.  Read's  colleagues  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals,  wrote  to  him  as  follows  from 

"RICHMOND,  August  29tli,  1786. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — I  do  myself  the  pleasure  to  ask  if  you 
intend  to  [be]  at  New  York,  in  November,  upon  the  busi 
ness  of  appeals  ? 

*  Unless  the  letter  of  April  9th  be  that  of  April  8th,  which  is  prob 
able  ;  Secretary  Thomson  writing  by  mistake  9th  instead  of  8th  of  this 
month.  The  reference  of  one  of  Mr.  Read's  letters  to  the  Treasury 
Board  strengthens,  I  think,  this  conjecture. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  419 

"  I  am  afraid  no  money  will  be  had  to  defray  our  ex 
penses.  It  would  be  proper  to  make  some  inquiries. 

"  How  inconsistently  Congress  have  acted  in  ordering  the 
salary  of  the  judges  to  cease,  and  are  now  again  obliged  to 
call  them  together!  Have  you  not  heard  that  a  little  party 
business  predominated  in  that  affair? 

"  It  is  very  extraordinary  that  Congress  never  received 
the  joint  letter  we  wrote  them  upon  the  subject  of  the  Court 
when  they  sat  at  Annapolis.  Mr.  Lowell  and  myself  were 
compelled  to  repeat  it  at  Trenton,  without  even  having  an 
opportunity  to  consult  you. 

"An  answer,  directed  immediately  to  me,  or  through  the 
Virginia  delegates,  will  be  received  with  much  satisfaction. 

"  I  hope  Mrs.  Read  and  yourself  are  in  the  best  health. 

"  I  am,  my  dear  sir,  with  great  esteem  and  regard,  your 
obedient  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"C.  GRIFFIN.* 

"  Honorable  GEOKGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

The  next  letter  in  order  of  dates,  received  as  he  was  about 
setting  off  for  Annapolis,  was  no  doubt  disheartening. 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  3d  September,  1786. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — Yours  of  the  1st  inst.  came  to  hand 
about  eight  o'clock  last  evening,  and  I  immediately  set  out  to 
procure  the  information  you  desired ;  but,  unluckily,  every 
one  of  the  gentlemen  [you  mentioned]  were  out  of  town, 
and  not  expected  home  till  late. 

*  Cyrus  Griffin  was  born  in  England,  but  anterior  to  the  American 
Revolution  was  a  member  of  the  bar  in  Virginia  and  of  her  Legisla 
ture,  and  twice,  if  not  oftener,  chosen  one  of  her  representatives  in  the 
Continental  Congress.  While  a  member  of  that  body  (February  28th, 
1780)  he  was  appointed  a  judge  of  the  "  Court  of  Appeals  in  admiralty 
cases."  Mr.  Madison,  in  a  letter  to  Edmund  Randolph  (New  York, 
January  17,  1788),  thus  announces  the  election  of  Mr.  Griffin  to  the 
presidency  of  the  Continental  Congress : 

"  DEAR  SIR, — A  Congress  was  made  for  the  first  time  on  Monday 
last,  and  our  friend  C.  Griffin  placed  in  the  chair.  There  was  no  com 
petition  in  the  case,  which  you  will  wonder  at,  as  Virginia  has  so  lately 
supplied  a  president.  New  Jersey  did  not  like  it,  I  believe,  very  well, 
but  acquiesced."  Mr.  Griffin  died  at  Yorktown,  in  1810,  aged  sixty-two 
years,  holding  the  office  of  Judge  of  the  United  States  District  Court 
of  Virginia,  and  having  been  the  first  judge  appointed  to  that  court. — 
Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  Biography,  p.- 345;  Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii. 
p.  667. 


420  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"All  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn  respecting  their 
movements  was  from  Mrs.  Fitsimmons,  who  told  me  that 
neither  her  husband  nor  Mr.  Morris  were  going  to  Annapo 
lis  ;  [but]  that  she  understood  Mr.  Clymer,  Mr.  Cox,  and 
General  Armstrong  (Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth)  were 
to  go  on  that  business,  but  did  not  know  when  they  were 
to  set  out. 

"  I  heard  a  person  say  in  the  coffee-house  that  there  were 
two  gentlemen  in  town  from  Jersey,  on  their  way  to  meet 
the  convention  at  Annapolis.  I  inquired  if  he  knew  their 
names,  but  was  answered  '  he  did  not,'  nor  did  he  know  if 
there  were  any  coming  from  farther  eastward. 

"  I  shall  write  to  you  at  Annapolis  if  I  can  learn  any 
thing  worth  communicating.  My  family  enjoy  tolerable 
good  health  at  present,  and  join  in  love  to  yours  and  all 
our  other  friends.  Wishing  you  an  agreeable  jaunt  and  a 
happy  issue  to  the  deliberations  you  are  going  to  engage  in, 
"  I  remain,  your  ever  affectionate 

"  JAMES  EEAD. 

"  Sunday  morning,  six  o'clock. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Delegates  from  Virginia,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  New 
Jersey,  and  New  York  met  at  Annapolis,  and  organized  by 
choosing  John  Dickinson  for  their  president;  but  the  num 
ber  of  the  States  represented  being  thus  small,  and  it  be 
coming  evident  upon  the  discussions  which  ensued  that  the 
whole  system  of  the  Federal  government  required  revision 
and  amendment,  and  the  commissions  of  the  delegates  not 
empowering  them  to  undertake  a  work  so  grave  and  so  ex 
tensive  as  this,  they  determined,  instead  of  adopting  a  com 
mercial  system  for  the  States,  to  recommend  that  they 
should  choose  delegates,  to  meet  in  Philadelphia  on  the 
second  Monday  in  May,  1787,  to  revise  the  "Articles  of 
Confederation,"  and  recommend  such  alterations  therein  as 
would  fit  them  for  the  exigencies  of  government  and  the 
preservation  of  union. 

Mr.  Read,  being  the  only  one  of  the  delegates  from  his 
State  to  the  late  convention  at  Annapolis  who  had  a  seat 
in  the  Legislature  of  Delaware,  was  anxious  to  be  present 
at  the  session  of  that  body,  about  to  be  held,  that  he  might 
report  the  result  of  the  convention,  give  all  necessary  in- 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  421 

formation  in  regard  to  it,  and  especially  that  he  might  exert 
'his  influence  in  support  of  its  recommendation;  but.  un 
fortunately,  the  time  appointed  for  holding  the  Court  of 
Appeals  would  fall  within  the  period  of  this  session  of  the 
Delaware  Legislature.  In  this  case  of  conflicting  duties, 
which  must  yield  ?  The  letter  which  follows  will  show 
Mr.  Read  proposed  to  reconcile  them. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  October  7th,  1786. 

"SiR,— I  had  your  letter  of  the  29th  of  June  last,  with 
its  inclosnre,  the  resolves  of  the  United  States  in  Congress 
assembled,  authorizing  and  directing  the  judges  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals  to  sustain  appeals  and  grant  rehearings  or  new 
trials  in  the  cases  which  have  been  or  may  be  brought 
before  them,  where  justice  and  right  might  require  it,  and 
for  the  assembling  of  the  said  court  on  the  first  Monday 
in  November  next,  in  a  reasonable  time  after  it  was  trans 
mitted  from  your  office ;  but  the  Legislature  of  this  State, 
previous  thereto,  having  adopted  the  proposition,- origin  ally 
made  by  the  Legislature  of  Virginia,  for  a  convention  of 
commissioners,  of  the  nomination  of  the  respective  States  of 
America,  to  meet  at  Annapolis,  for  the  purpose  of  forming 
a  system  of  commercial  regulations,  calculated  for  the  union, 
and  having  named  me  as  one  of  their  commissioners  for  that 
meeting,  I  apprehended  any  answer  I  could  make  to  your 
address  and  information  would  much  depend  upon  the  result 
of  such  convention  of  commissioners ;  for  although  true  it  is 
that  the  honorable  Congress  had  a  right  to  a  preference  of 
attendance,  yet  I  did  conceive  the  great  importance  of  the 
business  held  out  for  the  proposed  convention  might,  in  the 
opinion  of  that  honorable  body,  be  a  proper  subject  of  excuse 
for  the  non-attendance  of  an  individual  member  of  their 
Court  of  Appeals,  in  case  the  proceedings  to  be  had  at  the 
convention  should  render  his  attendance  necessary  else 
where  than  at  New  York  at  the  time  prefixed.  And  as  that 
meeting  of  commissioners  was  but  a  partial  one,  and  they 
recommended  to  their  respective  States  a  further  appoint 
ment,  with  enlarged  powers,  I  have  thought  that  it  might 
be  useful  and  necessary  for  me,  as  the  sole  attending  com 
missioner  that  had  a  seat  in  the  Legislative  Council  of  this 
State,  to  be  [present]  at  the  next  session  of  the  General  As 
sembly  thereof,  in  the  latter  end  of  this  month,  as  well  for 


422  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

laying  the  result  of  the  meeting  at  Annapolis  before  them, 
as  personally  to  state  and  urge  the  reasons  that  induced 
that  unanimous  opinion,  expressed  in  their  report,  in  favor 
of  a  future  appointment  of  commissioners,  with  enlarged 
powers,  and  now  more  especially  as  a  majority  of  the  re 
turned  members  in  the  several  counties  of  the  State  for  the 
House  of  Assembly  are  new  ones ;  and  therefore  it  is  that 
now,  through  you,  I  have  to  request  of  the  honorable  the 
United  States,  in  Congress  [assembled],  an  indulgence  of 
time  for  my  attendance  in  the  Court  of  Appeals,  at  New 
York,  until  the  latter  end  of  the  month  of  November,  or 
beginning  of  December,  by  which  time  I  do  expect  that  the 
ensuing  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  this  State  will 
certainly  end.  I  should  have  made  this  application  sooner 
after  my  return  from  Annapolis,  but  that  I  have  been  daily 
expecting  to  hear  from  my  colleague,  Mr.  C.  Griffin,  to 
whom  I  had  written,  informing  him  of  my  situation  as  to 
attendance  at  the  proposed  Court  of  Appeals,  and  wishing 
to  know  if  he  could  be  there  at  the  time  fixed  therefor.  I 
have  not  yet  been  favored  with  an  answer,  but  on  my 
return  from  Annapolis  I  met  Mr.  Griffin's  brother  in  Balti 
more,  who  told  me  Mr.  C.  Griffin  had  said  he  should  go  to 
New  York  after  the  rising  of  the  Virginia  Assembly,  that 
would  sit  in  November,  of  which  he  (Mr.  C.  Griffin)  was  a 
member.  Therefore,  under  such  circumstances  of  other 
public  duty  to  be  performed  by  the  judges  of  appeals,  I  must 
beg  it  of  you  to  have  it  submitted  to  the  honorable  the  States 
in  Congress  [assembled],  whether  a  postponement  of  the 
meeting  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  to  the  first  Monday  in  De 
cember  would  be  attended  with  any  improper  consequences 
as  to  the  expected  business  in  that  court,  as  by  that  day,  if 
no  unforeseen  accident  should  happen,  I  could,  without  inter 
ference  with  other  public  duty,  attend  at  New  York ;  and 
from  what  1  have  mentioned  above,  it  is  highly  probable 
Mr.  C.  Griffin  will  be  there  then,  and  Mr.  Lowell,  being  so 
informed,  may  not  be  disappointed  by  coming  forward  at 
too  early  a  day.  My  situation,  as  herein  stated,  must,  sir, 
be  my  apology  for  giving  you  this  trouble  of  application.* 


*  It  does  not  appear  that  this  application  was  made,  nor,  if  made, 
with  what  result 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  423 

"With  much  respect,  I  am  your  most  obedient,  humble 
servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"CHARLES  THOMSON,  Esquire." 

The  next  letters  are  the  last  of  Mr.  Read's  correspond 
ence  for  IT 86  which  I  find  among  his  papers.  They  con 
tain  some  information  worth  preserving,  and  show  further 
how  intimate  was  the  friendship  between  him  and  John 
Dickinson. 

"DEAR  SIR, — This  day  Mr.  Delaplain,  the  collector  for 
this  county,  called  upon  me,  and  surprised  me  by  saying 
my  rate  for  Christiana  Hundred,  in  which  I  reside,  is,  for 
the  present  year,  fifty  pounds.  As  I  am  taxed  for  the 
several  parts  of  my  estate  in  the  places  in  which  they  lie, 
my  taxes  in  Kent  County  alone  for  this  year  amounting  to 
two  hundred  and  seven  pounds  ten  shillings,  and  as  I  have 
no  property  whatever  in  this  hundred  but  my  household 
goods, — a  coach,  a  sulky,  three  horses,  and  a  cow, — I 
cannot  but  consider  the  rate  I  have  mentioned  as  unequal 
and  unjust.  Gentlemen  of  very  considerable  estate — to 
mention  only  Mr.  James  and  Mr.  John  Lea — are  rated,  each, 
only  at  thirty  pounds.  It  cannot  be  with  the  least  reason 
pretended  that  my  property  in  this  hundred  is  equal  to  the 
tenth  part  of  either  of  theirs.  Mr.  Delaplain  says  it  is  a 
shameful  inequality,  and  says  that  at  the  utmost  I  ought 
not  to  be  rated  above  ten  pounds;  but  he  adds  that  it  is  too 
late  now  to  appeal  for  redress  this  year.  He  informs  me — 
and  it  is  the  first  information  of  any  kind  I  have  received 
respecting  any  of  my  taxes  in  this  county — that  the  day 
after  Christmas  is  the  day  of  appeal  for  the  next  year.  I 
beg  leave  therefore  to  rely  upon  your  friendship  to  excuse 
me  for  giving  you  a  little  trouble  on  this  subject.  My  re 
quest  is  that  you  be  so  good  as  to  deliver  the  inclosed  letter 
to  the  gentlemen  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  when  they  meet, 
and  say  to  them  what  in  your  judgment  may  be  thought 
proper  on  this  occasion. 

"  I  have  left  this  letter  unsealed,  that  you  may  read  it. 
"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  sincere  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON." 


424  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  at  once  replied,  as  follows  : 


CASTLE,  17th  December,  1786. 

"DEAR  SIR,  —  I  have  yours  of  yesterday's  date,  inclosing 
an  address  to  the  Court  of  Appeals,  which  I  shall  deliver, 
but  it  is  a  place  I  seldom  grace  with  my  presence,  as  it  may 
properly  be  styled  a  court  at  Dover,  in  England,  I  suppose, 
where  they  are  all  talkers  and  no  hearers. 

"  I  am  told  my  son  George,  who  came  of  age  in  August 
last,  and  whose  profits  by  his  practice  have  not  enabled 
him  to  pay  for  his  clothing,  and  without  a  shilling  of  other 
ostensible  property,  is  rated  at  forty  pounds.  What  will 
be  the  fate  of  either  rate  is  difficult  to  say. 

"  There  is  a  bill  pending  in  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
State,  proposing  a  list  and  valuation  of  taxable  property 
and  new  modelling  the  Court  of  Appeals.  Whether  such 
a  provision  will  take  place  the  ensuing  session  I  cannot  say. 
Some  alteration  in  the  present  form  of  rating  hath  long  been 
thought  necessary. 

"The  compliments  of  my  family  await  yours,  and  I  am, 
with  much  respect  and  esteem, 

"Yours,  most  sincerely, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  The  Honorable  JOHN  DICKINSON." 

The  year  1786  closed  upon  Mr.  Read  preparing  to  attend 
the  approaching  session  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Dela 
ware,  and  hoping  by  the  exertion  of  his  influence  to  induce 
the  election  by  this  body  of  delegates  to  the  convention 
proposed  to  meet  at  Philadelphia  in  May,  1787. 


APPENDICES  TO   CHAPTER  V, 


-A.- 

TUESPAY,  February  16th,  1779,  Mr.  McKean  laid  before  Congress 
the  following  instrument,  empowering  the  delegates  from  the  State  of 
Delaware  to  ratify  and  sign  the  Articles  of  Confederation: 

"His  Excellency  Caesar  Rodney,  President,  Captain-General,  and 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Delaware  State,  to  all  to  whom  these 
presents  shall  come,  greeting: 

"  Know  ye,  That  among  the  records  remaining  in  the  rolls-office  of 
the  Delaware  State  there  is  a  certain  instrument  of  writing  purporting 
to  be  an  Act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  said  State,  which  said 
Act  is  contained  in  the  words  and  tenor  here  following,  to  wit: 

"Anno  milesimo  septingentesimo  septuagesimo  nono. 

"An  Act  to  authorize  and  empower  the  Delegates  of  the  Delaware 
State  to  subscribe  and  ratify  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Per 
petual  Union  between  the  several  States. 

"  Whereas,  the  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  between 
the  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Massachusetts-Bay,  Rhode  Island  and 
Providence  Plantation,  Connecticut,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsyl 
vania,  Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
and  Georgia,  signed,  in  the  General  Congress  of  the  said  States,  by 
Honorable  Henry  Laurens,  their  then  President,  have  been  laid  before 
the  General  Assembly  of  Delaware,  to  be  ratified  by  the  same,  if  ap 
proved ;  And  Whereas,  notwithstanding  the  terms  of  the  Articles  of 
Confederation  and  Perpetual  Union  are  considered,  in  divers  respects, 
as  unequal  and  disadvantageous  to  this  State,  and  the  objections  stated 
by  this  State  are  viewed  as  just  and  reasonable,  and  of  great  moment 
to  the  welfare  and  happiness  of  the  good  people  thereof,  yet,  under  the 
full  conviction  of  the  present  necessity  of  acceding  to  the  confederacy 
proposed,  and  that  the  interest  of  particular  States  ought  to  be  post 
poned  to  the  general  good  of  union,  and  moreover,  in  full  reliance  that 
the  candor  and  justice  of  several  States  will  in  due  time  remove,  as  far 
as  possible,  the  objectionable  parts  thereof, 

"  13 e  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  Delaware,  and  it  is 
hereby  enacted  by  the  authority  of  the  same,  That  John  Dickinson, 
Nicholas  Yan  Dyke,  and  Thomas  McKean,  Delegates  elected  to  repre 
sent  this  State  in  Congress,  or  any  one  or  more  of  them,  be  and  they 
are  hereby  authorized,  empowered,  and  directed,  on  behalf  of  this  State, 
to  subscribe  and  ratify  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation  and  Perpetual 
Union  between  the  several  States  aforesaid.  And  be  it  further  enacted 
by  the  authority  aforesaid,  [That]  the  said  Articles  of  Confederation 

28  (425) 


426  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and   Perpetual   Union,   so   as   aforesaid   subscribed   and  ratified,  shall 
thenceforth  become  obligatory  upon  this  State. 

"  NICHOLAS  YAN  DYKE, 

"Speaker  [of  Council]. 
"  THOMAS  COLLINS,* 

"  Speaker  [of  House]. 
"  Signed  by  order  of  the  Council. 
"Passed  at  DOVER,  February  1st,  1779. 

"All  which,  by  the  tenor  of  these  presents,  I  have  caused  to  be  ex 
emplified.  In  testimony  whereof,  the  great  seal  of  the  Delaware  State 
is  hereto  affixed,  at  Dover,  the  6th  day  of  February,  1779,  and  in  the 
third  year  of  the  independence  of  the  United  States. 

UC^ESAR  RODNEY. 

"By  his  Excellency's  command, 
[SEAL.]  "JAMES  BOOTH,  Secretary." 


COURT  OF  APPEALS  IX  ADMIRALTY  CASES. 

CONGRESS  established,  by  resolution,  15th  January,  1780,  a  court  for 
the  trial  of  all  appeals  from  the  Courts  of  Admiralty  in  the  United 
States,  in  case  of  capture,  to  consist  of  three  judges,  appointed  and 
commissioned  by  Congress,  either  two  of  whom,  in  the  absence  of  the 
other,  to  hold  a  court  for  the  dispatch  of  business, — the  said  court  to 
appoint  their  own  registrar.  The  trial  in  this  court  to  be  according  to 
the  usage  of  nations,  and  not  by  jury.  The  first  session  of  the  court  to 
be  as  soon  as  might  be,  at  Philadelphia,  and  its  future  sessions  at  such 
times  and  places  as  the  judges  shall  consider  most  conducive  to  the 
public  good,  but  never  farther  eastward  than  Hartford.  Connecticut,  or 
southward  than  Williamsburg,  Yirginia.  The  salaries  of  these  judges 
were  fixed,  but  not  till  September  15th,  1780,  at  twenty-two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  each  per  annum.  On  the  22d  of  January,  1780,  Congress 
elected,  by  ballot,  Messrs.  TVythe,  Paca,  and  Hosmer,  judges  of  this  court. 
On  the  8th  of  February  Mr.  Paca  accepted,  and  Mr.  Hosmer,  April  12th, 
and  Mr.  Wythe  declined  the  appointment  thus  conferred,  and  on  the 
28th  of  April  Mr.  Cyrus  Griffin,  of  Virginia,  was  elected,  in  his  room, 
who  accepted,  provided  his  constituents  (he  being  a  delegate  to  Con 
gress)  should  approve  of  his  so  doing.  On  the  17th  November,  1782, 
Mr.  Paca,  "  having  been  promoted  to  the  government  of  Maryland," 
resigned  his  Admiralty  judgeship,  and  in  the  same  month  Congress 
was  informed  of  the  death  of  Mr.  Hosmer,  and  on  the  5th  of  December, 
according  to  their  previous  order,  elected  John  Lowell  and  George 
Read,  in  their  room,  the  former  having  been  nominated  by  Mr.  Osgood 
and  the  latter  by  Mr.  Fitsimmons. — Journals  of  Congress,  published 
at  Philadelphia,  by  authority  of  Congress,  AD.  1800,  vol.  vi.  pp.  10, 
12,  18;  ibid.,  vol.  viii.  p.  21.  ^Congress,  9th  February,  1786,  "fully  im- 

*  See  Appendix  E. 


OF  GEORGE  READ. 


427 


pressed  with  a  sense  of  the  ability,  fidelity,  and  attention  of  the  judges 
of  the  Court  of  Appeals,  in  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  their  office, 
resolved  that,  as  the  war  was  at  an  end,  and  the  business  of  the 
court  in  a  great  measure  done  away,  their  salaries  should  cease." — 
Journal  of  Congress,  vol.  xi.  p.  25.  But  claimants  of  vessels,  in  the 
Court  of  Admiralty,  having  petitioned  Congress  for  hearings  and  re- 
hearings,  or  new  trials,  this  body,  27th  June,  1786,  resolved  "that  the 
Court  of  Appeals  should  grant  rehearings  or  new  trials  in  all  cases 
where  justice  should  require  it,  provided  the  order  for  the  same  shall 
not  suspend  the  execution  of  the  first  sentence  in  such  case,  unless  the 
party  in  whose  favor  it  is  gives  security  for  payment  of  such  costs  and 
damages  as  the  court,  on  a  rehearing,  may  award."  It  was  further  re 
solved  "that  the  judges  of  said  court  should  be  entitled  to  ten  dollars 
for  every  day  of  their  attendance  on  the  same,  and  while  travelling  to 
and  from  the  place  of  its  session,  and  should  meet  for  dispatch  of 
business  at  New  York,  the  first  Monday  of  November,  1786." — Journal 
of  Congress,  vol.  xi.  pp.  87,  88.  This  court  must  have  expired  with 
the  Confederacy,  as  there  was  no  repeal  of  the  resolution  which  estab 
lished  it,  I  believe,  having  failed  to  discover  any  resolve,  repealing  it, 
in  the  Journal  of  the  Continental  Congress. 


C  1. 

STATE  OF  THE  POLLS  FOR  NEW  CASTLE  COUNTY, 
GENERAL  ELECTION,  1st  OCTOBER,  1785. 


COUNCILLOR. 


*George  Read 1062 

John  Clark 299 

Alexander  Porter ....       72 

Thomas  May 50 

Peter  Hyatt 12 


Joshua  Clayton 
Isaac  Grantham 
David  Finney  . 
John  Crawford 
Joseph  Stedham 


ASSEMBLYMEN. 


*Gunninp:  Bedford     .     .     .  1282 

*Jacob  Broom 1118 

*Thomas  Duff 1067 

*John  Garrett 1013 

*Peter  Hyatt 1004 

*  Joshua  Clayton  ....  793 
*William  Clark  ....  735 
Alexander  Porter .  .  .  .  734 
John  Crawford  ....  684 

John  James 636 

Thomas  May 516 

Isaac  Grantham  ....  303 
James  Gibbons  .  .  .  .217 
Henry  Latimer  ....  198 


John  Lea 76 

Alexander  Reynolds      ...  27 

William  McClay 24 

Daniel  Charles  Heath   ...  15 

John  Hyatt 13 

John  Vining 10 

Isaac  Alexander 6 

Isaac  Lewis 6 

John  Clark 4 

James  Black 4 

Moses  McKnight  ....  2 
Christian  Van  Degrift  ...  2 
William  Robeson  ....  2 
Thomas  Watson 1 


*  Elected. 


428 


LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE 


*Thomas  Kean  (Commiss'd)  579 
Samuel  Smith  .     .     .521 


SHERIFF. 

William  McKennan 
James  Dunn  . 


CORONER. 


*John  Stockton  (Commiss'd)  681 

John  Enos 435 

Samuel  P.  Moore    ....  427 

Thomas  Glenn 198 

Isaac  Devou  .  166 


518 
129 


Robert  Montgomery  .  .  .152 
John  Fitsimraona  .  .  .  .135 
William  Bracken  ....  55 

William  Elliott 46 

John  Herdman  .  4 


C  2. 
NOTICE  OF  JOHX  READ. 

JOHN  READ,  fourth  son  of  George  Read,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence,  was  born  in  New  Castle,  in  the  State  of  Delaware, 
July  7th,  1769.  He  graduated  at  Nassau  Hall,  New  Jersey,  in  1787, 
— the  celebrated  Dr.  Witherspoon  being  president.  He  was,  after  the 
usual  time  of  study  of  law,  admitted  to  the  bar,  and  removing  to  the 
city  of  Philadelphia,  practised  there  for  many  years,  winning  universal 
confidence  and  respect  by  unwavering  integrity  in  all  the  relations  of 
life,  by  his  devotion  to  business,  and  urbane  manners. 

He  married,  in  1796,  Martha,  oldest  daughter  of  Samuel  Meredith, 
brother-in-law  of  George  Clymer,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Inde 
pendence.  These  gentlemen  were  prominent  merchants  for  many 
years  in  Philadelphia,  and  ardent  and  active  Whigs  during  the  Revo 
lutionary  war.  Clymer  was  also  a  member  of  the  convention  that 
framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  Meredith  first  treas 
urer  of  the  Federal  government.  Mrs.  Read's  mother  was  a  daughter 
of  Colonel  Thomas  Cadwallader,  and  sister  of  General  John  Cadwalla- 
der  ;  and  her  brother-in-law,  General  Philemon  Dickinson,  commanded 
the  militia  of  New  Jersey  at  the  battle  of  Monmouth,  and  John  Dickin 
son  was  her  cousin. 

In  1797  President  Adams  conferred  on  Mr.  Read  the  office  of  Agent- 
General  of  the  United  States  for  British  Debts,  which  he  filled  ably  and 
faithfully  through  Jefferson's  administration  (John  Dickinson  having 
urged  his  being  retained  in  this  post),  and  until  it  terminated. 

Mr.  Read  served  for  some  time  in  the  Councils  of  Philadelphia.  In 
1815  and  1816  he  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  House  of 
Representatives,  and  appointed  a  member  of  the  Committee  on  Roads 
and  Inland  Navigation,  and  during  the  session  of  that  body,  in  1816, 
was  attacked  by  an  illness  almost  fatal.  His  wife  hastened  to  his  bed 
side,  and,  while  assiduously  nursing  him,  fell  also  sick,  and  soon  after 
died.  He  did  not  again  marry.  He  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  Penn 
sylvania  in  1816, — while  serving  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  soon 
after  he  recovered  from  the  sickness  which  so  blighted  his  domestic 


*  Elected. 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  429 

happiness, — to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  Nicholas  Biddle's  resigna 
tion,  and  soon  after  appointed  a  State  director  in  Philadelphia  Bank. 

Jn  1817  Mr.  Read  received  the  appointment  of  Solicitor  of  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  and  in  1819  that  of  President  of  the  Philadelphia 
Bank,  which  he  held,  with  characteristic  ability  and  fidelity,  till  he  re 
signed  it  in  1841. 

Mr.  Read  removed  in  1841  to  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  where  he  re 
sided  in  retirement  from  secular  business,  but  (in  connection  with  St. 
Michael's  Parish),  as  before,  an  active,  wise,  and  liberal  churchman, 
adorning  by  a  consistent  life  his  Christian  profession.  In  July,  1854 
(13th),  he  departed  this  life,  having  attained  the  patriarchal  age  of 
eighty-five  years. 

His  only  surviving  daughter  died  13th  March,  1854,  and,  beside  the 
decease  of  several  of  his  children  in  their  infancy,  he  was  bereaved  by 
death  of  his  second  son,  Henry  Meredith,  who,  having  graduated  in  the 
University  of  Pennsylvania  and  studied  medicine,  died,  after  a  short 
illness,  soon  after  he  began  to  practice,  with  very  flattering  prospects  of 
success. 

Mr.  Read,  at  an  early  period  of  his  life  a  communicant  of  the  Prot 
estant  Episcopal  Church,  was,  for  many  years,  a  vestryman  and  warden 
of  Christ,  and  then  of  St.  James's,  Church,  Philadelphia,  having  taken 
an  active  part  in  building  it,  and  generally  in  the  affairs  of  the  church. 
He  was  of  middle  size  and  well  made,  and  his  features  regular  ;  he 
was  modest,  and  remarkably  discreet  and  prudent,  singularly  temperate 
in  eating  and  drinking,  and  seldom  failed  daily  to  take  much  exercise 
in  the  open  air. 

The  writer  of  this  "sketch,"  returning  from  the  General  Convention 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  held  at  Cincinnati  in  1850,  was  in 
troduced  to  the  Bishop  of  Western  New  York,  who  asked,  "  Are  you 
related  to  Mr.  John  Read,  of  Philadelphia?"  Upon  replying  "yes," 
the  bishop  added,  "  Give  me  your  hand,  sir:  Mr.  Read  was  one  of  my 
dearest  friends."  Dr.  Delancy,  previously  to  his  elevation  to  the  epis 
copate,  was  assistant  minister  of  Christ,  St.  Peter's,  and  St.  James's 
Churches,  Philadelphia,  and  rector,  after  the  union  of  these  churches 
was  dissolved,  of  St.  Peter's. 

The  only  surviving  child  of  Mr.  Read  is  the  Honorable  John  Mere 
dith  Read,  for  many  years  one  of  the  eminent  members  of  the  Phila 
delphia  bar,  and  elected,  by  the  great  majority  of  twenty-six  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  eighty-five  votes,  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Pennsylvania,  and  his  son,  General  John  M.  Read,  Jr.,  is 
United  States  Consul-General  at  Paris. 


430  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


STATE  OF  DELAWARE. 
IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY,  JUNE  15,  1786. 

Whereas,  Official  information  has  been  received  that  the  States  of 
Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  have  passed 
resolutions  appointing  certain  persons  therein  named  as  commissioners 
on  the  part  of  those  States  to  meet  such  commissioners  as  may  be  ap 
pointed  by  the  other  States  in  the  Union  for  the  purpose  of  taking  into 
consideration  the  trade  of  the  United  States,  and  to  report  such  an  act 
relative  thereto  as  will  best  promote  the  interest  of  the  United,  States  ; 
and  this  State  being  willing  to  co-operate  with  them  in  so  laudable  and 
useful  a  measure, 

Resolved,  That  the  Honorable  George  Read,  Esqr.,  Jacob  Broom, 
Esqr.,  John  Dickinson,  Esqr.,  Richard  Bassett,  Esqr.,  and  the  Honorable 
Gunning  Bedford,  Esqr.  be,  and  they  are  hereby,  appointed  commis 
sioners  on  the  part  of  this  State,  who  or  any  three  of  them  may  act,  to 
meet  such  other  commissioners  as  may  have  been  or  shall  be  appointed 
by  the  other  States,  at  Annapolis,  on  the  first  Monday  in  September  next, 
for  the  purpose  of  considering  the  trade  of  the  United  States,  to  examine 
the  relative  situations  and  trade  of  the  said  States,  to  consider  how  far 
an  uniform  system  in  their  commercial  regulations  may  be  necessary  to 
their  common  interest  and  permanent  harmony,  and  to  report  to  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled  such  an  act  relative  to  this  great 
object  as,  when  agreed  to  by  them  and  confirmed  by  the  Legislature  of 
every  State,  will  enable  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled  effect 
ually  to  provide  for  the  same. 

Resolved,  That  his  Excellency  the  President  be  requested  to  give 
notice  to  the  Supreme  Executives  of  the  several  States  in  the  Union 
of  the  concurrence  of  this  State  in  the  measures  proposed  by  the  States 
of  Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  for  the  pur 
poses  aforesaid. 

Resolved,  That  each  of  the  commissioners  aforesaid  shall  receive  the 
same  allowances  for  their  time  and  services  in  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  aforesaid  as  are  made  by  this  State  to  their  delegates  in  Congress 
by  the  resolution  of  the  fifth  day  of  November  last,  and  the  same  shall 
be  drawn  for  and  paid  in  like  manner. 

Sent  for  concurrence.  In  the  Council,  June  23d,  1796.  Read,  con 
sidered,  and  agreed  to. 

THO.  McDoNOUGii,  Speaker. 
Extract  from  the  Minutes. 

JAMES  BOOTH,  Clerk  of  Assembly. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  431 


THOMAS    COLLINS. 

"Ox  Sunday,  March  29th,  1789,  at  his  seat  at'Belmont,  near  the  vil 
lage  of  Puck  Creek  Cross-Roads,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  departed  this  life 
Thomas  Collins,  Esquire,  President,  Captain-General,  Governor,  and 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  State  of  Delaware,  aged  fifty-seven  years; 
and  on  Tuesday,  the  31st,  his  remains  were  respectfully  inhumed  in 
an  ancient  place  of  sepulture  belonging  to  his  family,  the  pall  being 
borne  by  our  Representative  in  Congress,  the  Privy  Council,  and  the 
Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  followed  by  a  very  numerous 
concourse  of  his  afflicted  and  sympathizing  fellow-citizens,  where  a 
discourse  highly  adapted  to  this  melancholy  occasion  was  delivered  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Roe,  pastor  of  the  united  parishes  of  Christ  Church  and 
St.  Peter's. 

"Mr.  Collins  descended  from  English  ancestors,  who  settled  early  in 
this  country,  and  bestowed  upon  him  all  the  learning  that  was  to  be 
acquired  in  those  times ;  and  though  he  never  enjoyed  the  benefits  of  a 
liberal  or  collegiate  education,  yet  a  thirst  after  knowledge,  joined  to  a 
strong  natural  and  masculine  understanding,  assisted  by  an  intense  appli 
cation  to  business,  sufficiently  atoned  for  that  want,  and  counterbalanced 
that  fortuitous  desideratum.  The  easy  affability  of  his  temper,  added  to  a 
benevolence  of  soul,  soon  endeared  him  to  his  countrymen,  and  secured 
the  affections  of  the  majority  of  his  fellow-citizens,  by  whose  suffrages 
he  was  elected  to  the  office  of  High  Sheriff  of  Kent  County,  a  post  at 
that  early  period  of  considerable  honor  and  advantage,  in  the  execution 
of  which,  for  the  term  of  nearly  four  years,  he  acquitted  himself  with 
zeal,  reputation,  and  integrity,  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of  his  constitu 
ents.  After  the  expiration  of  that  term,  he  was  successively  delegated 
to  the  important  trust  of  a  legislator  until  the  late  memorable  Revo 
lution. 

"Upon  the  general  dissolution  of  the  old  government  in  177G,  he  was 
appointed  one  of  the  Council  of  Safety  for  the  Delaware  State,  the  only 
executive  power  then  in  being,  and  afterwards  was  chosen  a  member  of 
the  convention  for  the  purpose  of  framing  a  new  constitution,  under  the 
authority  and  auspices  of  Congress.  His  next  appointments  were  to  the 
chief  command  of  one  of  the  first  regiments  of  militia  and  military  treas 
urer  for  the  State.  On  the  promotion  of  the  late  Governor  Rodney  to 
the  rank  of  a  major-general,  Mr.  Collins  succeeded  to  the  command  of  the 
county  brigade.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1777  General  Collins  headed 
his  native  militia  to  the  camp  and  head-quarters  at  Morristown,  New 
Jersey,  and  endured,  in  common  with  his  fellow-soldiers,  all  the  fatigue 
and  hardship  of  that  memorable  campaign.  During  the  same  year, 
when  the  troops  under  the  conduct  of  General  Sir  William  Howe  passed 
through  the  upper  part  of  New  Castle  County,  he  commanded  a  small 
army  of  observation  and  picket  on  the  lines  of  the  Maryland  and  Dela 
ware  States,  and  was  opposed  as  a  covering  corps  against  the  Germans, 
under  Lieutenant-General  the  Baron  Knyphausen,  and  so  hung  upon 


432  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

their  flank  and  rear  that  he  effectually  secured  the  country  below  from 
the  ravages  of  these  mercenary  marauders  ;  all  these  military  services 
being  performed  at  his  own  private  cost,  without  any  charge  or  expense 
to  the  government. 

"  He  was  successively  elected  to  the  House  of  General  Assembly  and 
the  Legislative  Council,  of  which  last. he  was  chosen  Speaker,  and  con 
tinued  as  such  until  removed  to  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court 
of  Common  Pleas  ;  and  from  thence,  as  a  full  and  complete  remuneration 
for  his  many  past  faithful  services,  he  was  finally,  and  by  the  unanimous 
voice  of  both  Houses  of  Assembly,  exalted  to  the  presidency  and  supreme 
command  of  the  State  of  Delaware.  In  this  last  eminent  situation  on 
this  pinnacle  of  civil  preferment  he  lived  without  pride,  governed  with 
ability,  abstracted  from  oppression,  and  died  with  composure  and  resig 
nation,  beloved,  regretted,  and  lamented  by  all  honest  men.  The  ur 
banity  of  his  soul  was  manifested  in  the  whole  tenor  of  his  actions, — 
not  only  benevolent  in  theory,  but  abundantly  beneficent  in  practice, — 
his  private  bounties  keeping  pace  with  his  public  donations.  As  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  he  evidenced  the  sincerity  of 
his  attachment  to  that  denomination  of  Christians  in  [the]  building  St. 
Peter's  Church,  at  Duck  Creek,  towards  which  he  was  the  chief  and 
principal  contributor.  Yet  notwithstanding  his  predilection  to  the 
Church  of  England  and  its  professors,  the  Catholicism  of  his  sentiments 
embraced  all  mankind  in  the  affectionate  circle  of  charity  and  fraternal 
regard.  Though  his  salary  as  com mander-in -chief  was  not  considerable, 
yet  he  resigned  the  emoluments  arising  from  marriage  and  tavern 
licenses  (being  part  of  that  salary),  equal  to  the  yearly  interest  of  nine 
or  ten  thousand  pounds,  to  the  use  of  the  State,  to  be  applied  to  such 
public  and  benevolent  purposes  as  the  Legislature  should  think  proper. 
This  generous  abdication  of  lucre  is  unprecedented  among  our  American 
governors,  and  was  never  surpassed  but  in  the  conduct  of  our  late 
worthy  general  and  Commander-in-chief — the  most  illustrious  President 
of  the  United  States. 

"  Rest,  then,  in  the  bosom  of  everlasting  peace,  thou  upright  governor, 
disinterested  patriot  and  statesman, — thou  kind  husband,  thou  most 
affectionate,  indulgent  father  and  gentle  master ;  and  while  thy  loss  is 
lamented,  in  all  the  bitterness  of  human  anguish,  by  a  youthful  son  and 
three  amiable  daughters,  let  them  wipe  off  the  tear  of  filial  regard  and 
dry  the  torrent  of  unutterable  sorrow,  and  in  consolation  remember  that 
the  beloved  parent,  who  now  sleeps  in  the  dust,  and  whose  kind  indul 
gences  they  shall  never  again  experience,  has  by  a  series  of  industrious 
pursuits,  governed  by  the  strictest  rules  of  honor  and  probity,  left  them 
in  possession  of  a  patrimony  superior  to  their  wants  and  beyond  the 
reach  of  adversity." — From  the  Delaware  Gazette,  a  paper  published  at 
Wilmington,  Delaware,  vol.  iv.  Xo.  202,  Saturday,  May  2d,  1789. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  433 


NOTICE  OF  DR.  WITHERSPOON. 

DR.  ALEXANDER  CARLISLE,  minister  of  Inveresk,  in  his  interesting 
Autobiography,  pp.  25,  26,  55,  thus  notices  him  : 

"I  was  sent  to  the  college  of  Edinburgh,  November  1st,  1735.  I 
was  in  a  boarding-house  where  was  very  good  company.  John  Wither- 
spoon,  the  celebrated  doctor,  was  also  in  the  house.  His  future  life  and 
public  character  are  well  known.  At  the  time  I  speak  of  he  was  a  good 
scholar,  far  advanced  for  his  age,  very  sensible  and  shrewd,  but  of  a 
disagreeable  temper,  which  was  irritated  by  a  flat  voice  and  awkward 
manner,  which  prevented  his  making  the  impression  on  his  companions, 
of  either  sex,  which  was  at  all  adequate  to  his  abilities.  This  defect 
when  he  was  a  lad  stuck  to  him  when  he  grew  up  to  manhood,  and  so 
much  roused  his  envy  and  jealousy  as  made  him  take  a  road  to  distinc 
tion  very  different  from  that  of  his  more  successful  companions." 

Carlisle  further  writes  that  he  used  to  accompany  Witherspoon  in 
visits  to.  his  father,  a  clergyman  residing  at  Gifford  Hall,  when  they 
were  wont  to  pass  the  day  in  fishing,  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  father, 
who  was  very  sulky  and  tyrannical,  but  much  given  to  gluttony,  and  in 
bed  always  at  nine,  and  fat  as  a  porpoise  :  was  not  to  be  awakened,  so  that 
they  had  three  or  four  hours  every  night  to  amuse  themselves  with  the 
daughters  of  the  house  and  their  cousins.  This  John  loved  of  all  things, 
and  far  more  when  he  returned  Carlisle's  visits,  and  had  more  com 
panions  of  the  fair  sex  and  no  restraint  from  an  austere  father  ;  so  that 
Carlisle  always  considered  the  austerity  of  manner  and  aversion  to 
society  which  he  assumed  afterwards  as  the  arts  of  hypocrisy  and  am 
bition,  for  he  had  a  strong  and  enlightened  understanding,  far  above 
enthusiasm,  and  a  temper  that  did  not  seem  liable  to  it. 

It  was  believed  by  some  persons  that  Dr.  Nesbit,  President  of  Dick 
inson  College,  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  was  the  son  (filius  nothus)  of 
Witherspoon,  to  whom  he  bore  a  striking  resemblance  in  features,  but 
was  unlike  him  in  person  and  temper.  Any  likeness  between  their 
sentiments  and  public  appearances  might  be  accounted  for  by  the  great 
admiration  for  Witherspoon  of  Nesbit,  who  was  bred  up  in  his  parish, 
under  his  eye.  Nesbit  was  a  man  of  some  learning  and  ability,  which 
he  displayed  with  little  judgment  in  the  Assembly.  He  was  in  point  of 
learning  well  qualified  for  the  presidency  of  Dickinson  College,  but 
became  miserable,  because  he  could  not  return  to  Scotland,  —  a  striking 
case  of  nostalgia. 

A  lady,  to  whom  Dr.  Witherspoon  was  showing  his  garden,  said, 
"You  have  an  excellent  garden,  but  no  flowers."  "No,  madam,"  said 
he,  "neither  in  my  garden  nor  in  my  discourse."  —  Biography  of  the 
Signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  vol.  ii.  p.  257. 


434  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


CHAPTER  VI. 

State  of  public  affairs,  feelings,  and  opinions  at  the  beginning  of  1787,  as  to 
powers  proper  to  be  delegated  the  general  government;  how  it  could  be 
amended  ;  ungranted  lands  ;  and  votes  of  the  States  in  the  National  Legisla 
ture —  Madison's  letters  from  New  York — Western  posts,  and  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi — Monarchy  advocated — Mr.  Head's  letters  to  Mr  Dickinson  ; 
approaching  session  of  Delaware  Legislature ;  his  opinion  that  the  Delaware 
delegates  should  be  inhibited  from  giving  up  her  equal  vote — Delegates  ap 
pointed,  Mr.  Head  one  of  them,  with  the  advised  restriction;  wisdom  of  it 
afterwards  apparent— Compromise  of  the  claims  of  the  States  as  to  their  votes 
in  the  National  Legislature — Anecdotes  of  G-ouverneur  Morris — Letter  of  Jacob 

•  Broom — Slow  arrival  of  delegates  to  the  Convention  at  Philadelphia — Want 
of  facilities  of  travel— Letter  from  Mr  Read,  in  Philadelphia,  to  Mr  Dickin 
son — His  account  of  a  proposed  plan  of  a  national  government — Suspicions  of 
intentions  of  large  States  towards  the  smaller  ones  dangerous  to  them — Con 
vention  organizes  ;  Washington  elected  President,  and  Jackson  secretary — Pro 
ceeds  at  once  to  business — Randolph's  plan  of  a  new  Constitution  ;  debates  in 
Committee  of  the  Whole  on  this  plan — G-reat  warmth  on  the  question,  "  What 
should  be  the  rule  of  suffrage  in  the  Federal  Legislature?" — Decisions  against 
the  smaller  States  in  the  Committee  of  the  Whole — The  Jersey  plan  ;  its  infe 
riority  to  the  Virginia  one;  why  preferred  by  the  smaller  States — Hamilton 
opposes  both  plans,  and  prefers  monarchy,  but  that  being  impracticable,  ad 
vocates  a  strong  central  government — Virginia  plan  reported  to  the  House, 
considered  there,  and  proportional  representation  of  the  State  retained— Dissat 
isfaction  and  danger  of  dissolution — Committee  of  Conference;  result — Com 
promise  of  proportional  vote  in  the  House  and  equal  in  the  Senate — Questions 
as  to  rule  of  apportionment  of  representatives,  whether  slaves  were  property 
or  not,  etc.,  raised  and  settled  ;  proposition  agreed  to  in  Committee  of  the 
Whole,  referred  to  Committee  of  Detail;  their  report — Warm  debates  as  to 
proposed  power  to  pass  navigation  laws,  prohibit  taxes  on  exports  and  the 
slave-trade  :  questions  thus  raised,  settled  by  compromise — Mr.  Read's  speeches 
in  the  Convention — Hamilton's  plan — Madison's  testimony  to  the  purity  of 
the  Convention  and  devotion  to  their  duty — Signature  of  the  Constitution  — 
Note  of  Mr.  Dickinson — Constitution  laid  before  Congress  and  submitted  to 
the  States ;  violent  opposition  to  it — Constitution  first  ratified  by  Delaware — 
Death  of  Colonel  Cantwell ;  Mr  Read's  opinion  as  to  the  removal  of  his 
remains,  interring  families  together,  and  on  private  cemeteries,  and  comment 
on  it  —  State  of  public  atfairs  and  opinions  at  the  beginning  of  1788  —  In 
most  of  the  States  proposed  Constitution  of  the  United  States  under  considera 
tion  ;  objections  to  it  fallacious — Character  of  the  Constitutional  and  anti- 
Constitutional  parties  —  Constitution  ratified  —  Vining  elected  to  House  of 
Representatives  from  Delaware,  and  Bedford,  Mitchell,  and  Banning  electors 
of  President  and  Vice-President,  who  vote  for  Washington  and  Adams — 
Messrs.  Read  and  Bassett  chosen  United  States  Senators  for  Delaware — letter 
of  Mr.  Dickinson — Question  as  to  location  of  the  seat  of  the  Federal  gov 
ernment;  attendance  of  Delaware  delegates  in  Congress  important  on  account 
of  it — Letter  of  M-ijor  Jackson  to  Mr.  Read — Candidates  for  secretaryship  of 
the  S'-nate — C.  Griffin's  letter  in  fuvor  of  J.  Livingston — Assault  on  Mr.  Read 
by  "Timoleon  ;"  its  character  ;  failed  in  its  object — Letter  of  Mr.  Dickin-on  ; 
recommends  Colonel  Pierce  for  collectorship  of  Savannah — Letter  of  Edmund 
Randolph  recommending  Colonel  Heth  for  office — Letter  of  Samuel  Wharton 
— Organization  of  United  States  goverm^nt  delayed  by  want  of  quorums  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress — Letter  of  J.  Langdon  and  others,  urging  Mr.  Read's  pres 
ence  at  New  York — Win.  Bingham  recommends  Major  Jackson  for  secretary- 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  435 

ship  of  Unitod  States  Senate — Letter  of  C.  Thomson  urging  Mr.  Read's  at 
tendance  in  United  States  Senate — Letter  of  John  Vining — Death  of  Gover 
nor  Collins— Competitors  for  governorship  of  Delaware — Notice  of  James 
Booth,  and  his  letter  to  Mr.  Head — Quorum  of  both  Houses  of  Congress  ob 
tained — Election  of  President  and  Vice-President  declared — Washington's 
election  announced  to  him  ;  sets  cut  for  New  York  ;  his  reception  there  and 
on  his  journey  ;  his  inauguration — Notice  of  J.  McHenry  ;  his  letter  in  favor 
of  Commodore  Barney — Mr.  Read's  allotment  to  class  of  senators  whose  seats 
would  be  vacated  in  two  years — Mr  Read  asks  opinions  of  Messrs.  Dickinson 
and  Vining  on  the  bill  to  establish  United  States  courts — Their  letters — Com 
mon  law  ;  how  much  of  it  adopted  with  the  United  States  Constitution — Letter 
of  John  Penn;  confides  his  affairs  in  Delaware  to  Mr.  Read — Notice  of  John 
Penn — Competition  for  United  States  offices — District  Judgeship  of  Pennsyl 
vania,  candidates  for — Notices  of  Edward  Shippen — Letters  of  Moses  Levy 
and  Edward  Tilghman  recommending  him  —  Peters  appointed  —  Letter  of 
Mr.  Dickinson,  pressed  for  a  debt  assumed  for  Delaware — Mr.  Read's  service 
on  Senate  committees — Senate  adjourns — A  day  of  thanksgiving  recommended 
— Principal  bills  passed  by  Congress — Interval  between  adjournment  and 
next  session  devoted  by  Mr.  Read  to  his  family  and  profession — Appendix 
A,  act  of  Assembly  appointing  Mr.  Read  and  others  delegates  to  the  Conven 
tion  that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States — Appendix  B,  notice 
of  Nicholas  Van  Dyke — Appendix  C,  notice  of  Edmund  Randolph — Appendix 
C  2,  notice  of  C.  Thomson — Appendix  D,  notice  of  John  Vining — Appendix 
E,  notice  of  Commodore  Barney — Appendix  F,  classification  of  United  States 
Senate — Appendix  G-,  notice  of  Gunning  Bedford — Appendix  H,  notice  of 
Richard  Peters  and  Edward  Tilghman. 

NONE  of  my  countrymen,  unless  utterly  thoughtless,  ex 
changed  greetings  on  New  Year's  Day,  1787,  without 
anxiety.  Evils  of  most  grave  character  were  upon  them, 
and  fears  for  the  future  predominated  over  their  hopes  of 
more  prosperous  times.  The  disease  under  which  the  body 
politic  was  suffering  had  reached  its  crisis.  Mr.  Madison's 
letters'1'  in  the  winter  and  spring  of  1787  enable  me,  in 
some  degree  at  least,  to  feel  as  that  patriot  felt  and  to  think 
as  he  thought,  as  he  noted  fluctuations  of  opinion  and  events 
as  they  occurred,  favorable  or  unfavorable  to  the  success  of 
the  contemplated  convention  of  that  year.  His  position, 
that  of  member  of  Congress,  sitting  in  New  York,  was  at  a 
point  where  streams  of  intelligence  converged  from  all  the 
States.  Diverse  were  the  opinions  upon  the  great  measure 
everywhere  the  subject  of  thought  and  discussion.  Some 
believed  that  unless  recommended  by  Congress  it  must  fail, 
while  others  were  persuaded  that  this  sanction  would  defeat 
it,  so  rampant  was  State  jealousy  of  Federal  power.  Some 
were  for  amending  the  Articles  of  Confederation ;  others 
for  substituting  a  new  system  of  government.  The  wisest 
citizens,  profiting  by  bitter  experience  of  the  want  of  a 
central  power  to  regulate  matters  of  general  concernment, 

*  Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  615,  682,  passim. 


436  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

foreign  relations,  commerce,  internal  and  foreign  revenue, 
and  posts,  for  example,  had  even  struck  out  the  great  feat 
ures  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  To  whom 
belongs  the  merit  of  the  first  conception  of  the  outlines  of 
this  Constitution  is  doubtful.*  Wherever  there  has  been  a 
great  want  the  remedy  for  it  has  often  suggested  itself,  with 
more  or  less  clearness,  simultaneously  to  several  men,  dis 
tant  from  each  other,  and  without  interchange  of  thoughts 
on  the  subject.  Hence  controversies  have  not  been  infre 
quent  in  regard  to  claims  to  the  merit  of  originating  inno 
vations  in  government  or  improvements  in  arts  that  have 
augmented  the  comfort  and  wealth  and  with  them  the 
intelligence  and  virtue  of  nations.  The  States  were  reluc 
tant  to  relinquish  power,  and  distrustful  of  the  depositories 
of  it  should  it  be  delegated.  The  small  States  felt  that 
their  existence  would  be  endangered  if  they  yielded  the 
equality  of  vote  in  the  national  government,  which  they 
claimed,  and  which  the  larger  States  denounced  as  so  unjust 
and  unreasonable  that  they  could  never  admit  it.  Opinions 
were  various  as  to  the  powers  which  ought  to  be  delegated 
to  the  general  government.  Some  favored  consolidation ; 
others  such  a  retention  of  power  by  the  States  as  was 
incompatible  with  a  vigorous  or  indeed  any  national  gov 
ernment.  The  States  that  were  importers  for  contiguous 
States  selfishly  wished  to  retain  the  advantage  they  enjoyed 
of  raising  revenue  on  merchandise,  which  their  neighbors, 
wanting  ports,  were  compelled  to  receive  through  their 
merchants.  New  Jersey,  between  Pennsylvania  and  New 
York,  and  North  Carolina,  between  Virginia  and  South 
Carolina,  were  felicitously  compared  to  "  a  hogshead  tapped 
at  both  ends,"  or  "  a  patient  bleeding  at  both  arms."  There 
was  another  source  of  strife  in  the  question  to  whom  be 
longed  the  ungranted  or  crown  lands,  claimed  by  the  States 
within  whose  boundaries  they  were  situated,  and  for  this 
reason  and  as  pertinaciously  by  other  States  as  the  common 
property,  because  wrested  from  the  British  sovereign  by  the 
blood,  and  money,  and  sacrifices  of  all.  No  one  looked 
with  the  least  respect  to  Congress,  or  faintest  hope  of  relief 
from  its  measures.  Its  requisitions  were  treated  with  silent 

*  CurtiVs  History  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.; 
Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  632,  633. 


OF   GEORGE   EEAD.  437 

contempt.  No  provision  could  be  made  for  the  sacred  debt 
of  the  war  just  gloriously  terminated,  while  honest  and 
generous  men  hung  their  heads  in  shame  when  they  wit 
nessed  the  penury,  with  all  its  woes,  of  the  victims  of  such 
flagrant  ingratitude.  The  Western  posts  were  retained  by 
the  British,  and  treaty  stipulations  for  the  payment  of  debts 
due  English  merchants  were  disregarded.  Our  commerce 
was  in  peril  of  annihilation  by  foreign  governments,  and 
there  was  no  power  in  Congress  to  counteract  their  encroach 
ments.  The  South  and  the  Western  settlers  were  disgusted 
and  alarmed,  and  the  latter  threatened  separation  because 
of  the  selfish  designs  of  the  Eastern  States  to  purchase 
advantages  for  their  trade  by  ceding  to  Spain,  for  a  term  of 
years  at  least,  the  right  claimed  by  their  countrymen  to 
navigate  the  Mississippi.  Some  men,  at  least  in  the  East 
ern  States,  advocated  openly  and  boldly  monarchical  gov 
ernment  as  the  only  remedy  for  existing  evils,  and,  to  pave 
the  way  for  it,  favored  the  establishment  of  two  or  more 
confederacies.  Lawyers  argued  that  the  "Articles  of  Con 
federation"  could  only  be  amended  in  the  mode  they  pro 
vided,  but  it  was  well  replied  that  it  was  absurd  to  interpose 
these  articles,  powerless  for  good,  as  a  barrier  to  the  proposed 
attempt  to  relieve  the  people  from  the  evils  under  which 
they  were  suffering,  which,  however  irregular,  was  the  only 
practicable  one,  and  must  be  tried  then  or  not  at  all.  The 
hope  of  reconciling  these  conflicting  opinions  was  almost 
gone,  when  the  Shay  insurrection,  overruled  by  Providence 
for  this  great  good,  forced  upon  those  who  opposed  or  hesi 
tated  to  approve  the  proposed  convention  the  conviction 
that  this  measure  could  alone  avert  civil  war,  which  was  at 
the  door  of  every  State,  and  State  after  State  elected  depu 
ties  to  revise  their  Federal  Constitution,  and  so  to  amend 
as  to  make  it  adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  government  and 
the  preservation  of  the  union  of  the  States,  until,  before 
the  spring  of  1787,  all  had  chosen  them  except  Rhode 
Island. 

The  session  of  the  Delaware  Legislature  was  about  to 
commence.  The  question  of  the  election  of  deputies  to  the 
proposed  convention  was  to  be  decided  at  this  session. 
Mr.  Read,  at  this  conjuncture,  asked,  in  the  following  letter 
to  his  friend  John  Dickinson,  his  consideration  of  the  views 
therein  submitted  to  him  upon  a  point  of  the  utmost  in- 


438  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

terest,  because  of  vital  importance  to  the  small  States  of  the 
American  Confederacy. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  January  17th,  1787. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Finding  that  Virginia  hath  again  taken  the 
lead  in  the  proposed  convention  at  Philadelphia  in  May,  as 
recommended  in  our  report  when  at  Annapolis,  as  by  an  act 
of  their  Assembly,  passed  the  22d  of  November  last,  and 
inserted  in  Dunlap's  paper  of  the  15th  of  last  month  [ap 
pears],  it  occurred  to  rne,  as  a  prudent  measure  on  the  part 
of  our  State,  that  its  Legislature  should,  in  the  act  of 
appointment,  so  far  restrain  the  powers  of  the  commission 
ers,  whom  they  shall  name  on  this  service,  as  that  they  may 
not  extend  to  any  alteration  in  that  part  of  the  fifth  article 
of  the  present  Confederation,  which  gives  each  State  wie  vote 
in  determining  questions  in  Congress,  and  the  latter  part  of 
the  thirteenth  article,  as  to  future  alterations, — that  is,  that 
such  clause  shall  be  preserved  or  inserted,  for  the  like  pur 
pose,  in  any  revision  that  shall  be  made  and  agreed  to  in  the 
proposed  convention.  I  conceive  our  existence  as  a  State 
will  depend  upon  our  preserving  such  rights,  for  1  consider 
the  acts  of  Congress  hitherto,  as  to  the  ungranted  lands  in 
most  of  the  larger  States,  as  sacrificing  the  just  claims  of 
the  smaller  and  bounded  States  to  a  proportional  share 
therein,  for  the  purpose  of  discharging  the  national  debt 
incurred  during  the  war;  and  such  is  my  jealousy  of  most 
of  the  larger  States,  that  I  would  trust  nothing  to  their 
candor,  generosity,  or  ideas  of  public  justice  in  behalf  of  this 
State,  from  what  has  heretofore  happened,  and  which,  I 
presume,  hath  not  escaped  your  notice.  But  as  I  am  gen 
erally  distrustful  of  my  own  judgment,  and  particularly  in 
public  matters  of  consequence,  I  wish  your  consideration  of 
the  prudence  or  propriety  of  the  Legislature's  adopting  such 
a  measure,  and  more  particularly  for  that  I  do  suppose  you 
will  be  one  of  its  commissioners.  Persuaded  I  am,  from 
what  I  have  seen  occasionally  in  the  public  prints  and  heard 
in  private  conversations,  that  the  voice  of  the  States  will 
be  one  of  the  subjects  of  revision,  and  in  a  meeting  where 
there  will  be  so  great  an  interested  majority,  I  suspect  the 
argument  or  oratory  of  the  smaller  State  commissioners  will 
avail  little.  In  such  circumstances  I  conceive  it  will  relieve 
the  commissioners  of  the  State  from  disagreeable  argu 
mentation,  as  well  as  prevent  the  downfall  of  the  State, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  439 

which  [without  an  equal  vote]  would  at  once  become  a 
cypher  in  the  union,  and  have  no  chance  of  an  accession  of 
district,  or  even  citizens;  for,  as  we  presently  stand,  our 
quota  is  increased  upon  us,  in  the  requisition  of  this  year, 
more  than  thir teen-eightieth 8  since  1775,  without  any  other 
reason  that  I  can  suggest  than  a  promptness  in  the  Legis 
lature  of  this  State  to  comply  with  all  the  Congress  requi 
sitions  from  time  to  time.  This  increase  alone,  without 
addition,  would  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  banish  many  of 
its  citizens  and  impoverish  the  remainder;  therefore,  clear 
I  am  that  every  guard  that  can  be  devised  for  this  State's 
protection  against  future  encroachment  should  be  preserved 
or  made.  I  wish  your  opinion  on  the  subject  as  soon  as 
convenient. 

"  I  am  pressed  from  divers  quarters  to  give  an  early 
attendance  at  the  ensuing  session  'of  Assembly,  and  did  say 
to  two  gentlemen,  the  other  evening,  that  I  would  set  [out] 
with  them  early  on  next  Monday,  if  they  would  procure  a 
stage-wagon  for  the  taking  us  down. 

"  My  many  absences  from  home,  and  the  variety  of  busi 
nesses  I  have  to  attend  to,  give  me  little  opportunity  to 
digest  my  thoughts  well  on  any  of  them.  My  condition  is 
that  of  a  common  hack,  for  the  use  of  every  one  that  thinks 
fit  to  call  for  it,  subjected  to  much  hard  treatment  and  ill 
fed. 

"  I  had  yours  by  Mr.  Lake,  who  did  not  think  fit  to 
adopt  a  proposition  I  suggested  to  him  for  the  speedy  de 
termination  of  the  dispute  between  him  and  James  Huston, 
as  mentioned  by  you,  which  was  the  submitting  the  ques 
tion  of  law  upon  the  words  of  the  will  of  a  testator,  whom 
he  admitted  they  both  claimed  under,  to  some  gentleman 
of  the  law,  as  from  what  I  knew  of  the  respective  claims  it 
ought  and  could  be  the  only  legal  question.  As  to  submit 
ting  equitable  circumstances  to  those  sort  of  judges  [he  pro 
posed],  I  could  not  consistently  with  my  own  opinion  and 
duty  advise  the  measure.  I  suspect  you  were  only  applied 
to  on  [account  of]  the  supposed  influence  you  might  have 
over  me.  Respect  either  to  you  or  me  influences  no  further 
than  immediate  interest  leads  to — certum  est. 

"  In  answer  to  your  questions  as  to  the  intestate  acts  of 
1742  and  1750,  there  was  no  intermediate  act  altering  the 
succession  to  lands  of  intestates;  and  by  a  manuscript  ab- 


440  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

stract  I  have  of  the  act  of  1742  (16th  George  II),  (my 
printed  one  being  loaned  in  Kent),  where  there  were  no 
children,  or  legal  representatives  of  such,  the  moiety  of  the 
lands  were  to  the  widow,  for  life,  and  the  residue  to  be 
equally  divided  to  every  the  next  of  kin  of  the  intestate,  in 
equal  degree,  and  to  those  who  legally  represented  them. 
No  representatives  among  collaterals,  after  brothers  and 
sisters'  children.  This  clause  is  preceded  by  the  following, 
which  is  properly  a  part  of  the  one  directing  the  lineal  dis 
tribution, — viz.,  '  and  if  any  of  the  children  happen  to  die 
before  age,  or  before  marriage,  then  their  portion  to  be 
divided  among  the  brothers  and  sisters,  or  their  representa 
tives.' 

"  If  you  should  happen  [to  have]  the  Pennsylvania  acts 
of  the  21st  March  and  20th  September,  1783,  respecting 
the  payment  of  interest  on  unalienated  certificates,  but  par 
ticularly  the  first,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  you  to  send  them. 
If  no  opportunity  offers  here,  send  them  to  Mr.  Broom,  to 
bring  them  to  Dover  to  me. 

"I  am,  with  much- esteem,  yours  most  sincerely, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"The  Honorable  JOHN  DICKINSON." 

The  General  Assembly  of  Delaware  appointed,  by  an  act 
passed  3d  February,  1787,  George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford, 
John  Dickinson,  Richard  Bassett,  and  Jacob  Broom  deputies 
of  Delaware  to  the  convention  proposed  to  be  held  at  Phila 
delphia  to  revise  the  Federal  Constitution,  with  the  restric 
tion  upon  the  power  conferred  on  them  suggested  by  Mr. 
Read  in  his  foregoing  letter  to  John  Dickinson.* 

The  wisdom  of  this  restraint  was  afterwards  apparent. 
On  the  30th  May,  1787,  the  question,  "What  ought  to  be 
the  right  of  suffrage  in  the  national  government?"  came  up 
in  convention,  Mr.  Madison  having  moved  kithat  the  rule 
of  suffrage  established  by  the  Articles  of  Confederation  ought 
not  to  be  the  rule  in  the  national  legislature.  Mr.  Read 
moved  "that  the  whole  clause  relating  to  the  point  of  rep 
resentation  be  postponed,  reminding  the  committee  that  the 
deputies  from  Delaware  were  restrained  by  their  commission 
from  assenting  to  any  change  in  the  rule  of  suffrage,  and 

*  Appendix  A. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  441 

in  case  of  such  change  it  might  become  their  duty  to  retire 
from  the  convention."  Mr.  Gonverneur  Morris*  replied 
"  that  the  valuable  assistance  of  these  members  could  not 
be  lost  without  real  concern,  and  that  so  early  a  proof  of 
discord  in  the  convention  as  the  secession  of  a  State  would 
add  much  to  the  regret;  that  the  change  proposed,  however, 
was  so  fundamental  an  article  in  the  national  government 
that  it  could  not  be  dispensed  with."  It  was  finally  agreed 
that  the  subject  should  be  postponed,  with  the  understand 
ing  that  the  proposed  change  would  certainly  be  agreed  to; 
which  was  not  the  case,  the  opposing  claims  of  the  States, 
equally  divided  upon  this  question,  having  been  settled  by 
a  compromise  establishing  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  the  principles  of  proportional  representation  of  the 
people  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and  of  equal  repre 
sentation  in  the  Senate  of  the  States,  the  just  rule  in  a 

*  "  The  self-possession  of  Gouverneur  Morris  Avas  so  complete  that  he 
is  said  to  have  declared  he  never  knew  the  sensation  of  fear,  inferiority, 
or  embarrassment  in  his  intercourse  with  man." — Curtis's  History  of 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  145. 

But  it  appears  by  the  following  anecdote,  communicated  to  me  by 
Mrs.  Susan  Eckard,  of  Philadelphia,  daughter  of  Colonel  James  Read, 
that  Mr.  Morris  was  once  frightened,  embarrassed,  and  sensible  of 
inferiority  in  the  presence  of  a  fellow-mortal : 

"  Gouverneur  Morris,  a  very  handsome,  bold,  and — I  have  heard  the 
ladies  say — very  impudent  man.  His  talents  and  services  are  part  of 
American  history.  He  wore  a  wooden  leg.  He  was  not  related  to  the 
great  financier,  who  was  said  to  be  a  natural  child.  The  office  of  Mr. 
[Robert]  Morris  was  only  divided  from  papa's  by  a  small  entry,  and 
was  constantly  visited  by  Mr.  Gouverneur  Morris,  and  papa's  also.  One 
day  the  latter  entered,  and  papa  was  so  struck  by  his  crest-fallen  ap 
pearance  that  he  asked,  'Are  you  not  well  ?'  He  replied,  'I  am  not,— 
the  devil  got  possession  of  me  last  night.'  '  I  have  often  cautioned  you 
against  him,'  said  papa,  playfully:  'but  what  has  happened  to  disturb 
you  ?'  '  I  was  at  the  President's  last  night ;  several  members  of  the  Cabi 
net  were  there.  The  then  absorbing  question'  ('I  forget,'  Mrs.  E.  writes, 
'what  it  was')  '  was  brought  up.  The  President  was  standing  with  his 
arms  behind  him, — his  usual  position, — his  back  to  the  fire,  listening. 
Hamilton  made  a  speech  I  did  not  like.  I  started  up  and  spoke,  stamp 
ing,  as  I  walked  up  and  down,  with  my  wooden  leg;  and,  as  I  was 
certain  I  had  the  best  of  the  argument,  as  I  finished  I  stalked  up  to  the 
President,  slapped  him  on  the  back,  and  said,  "Ain't  I  right,  general  ?" 
The  President  did  not  speak,  but  the  majesty  of  the  American  people 
was  before  me.  Oh,  his  look!  How  I  wished  the  floor  would  open 
and  I  could  descend  to  the  cellar  !  You  know  me,'  continued  Mr 
Morris,  '  and  you  know  my  eye  would  never  quail  before  any  other 
mortal.'" 

29 


442  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

government  national  and  federal.  The  restriction  upon  the 
powers  of  the  Delaware  members  had  some  influence  in 
producing  this  happy  result,  and  the  reference  to  it  by  Mr. 
Eead  was  the  first  indication  on  the  floor  of  the  convention 
that  extreme  pretensions  could  not  prevail.* 

It  appears  by  the  following  letter  from  one  of  Mr.  Read's 
colleagues,  that,  before  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting 
of  the  convention,  he  had  taken  lodgings  in  Philadelphia, 
and  was  there. 

Saturday  evening,  eight  o'clock,  CHESTER,  May  12th,  1787. 

SIR, — I  just  now  alighted  at  Mrs.  Withy's,  and  sit  down 
to  inform  you  that,  previous  to  my  leaving  Philadelphia,  I 
understood  that  my  youngest  child  (who  I  left  under  in 
oculation)  was  very  ill, — perhaps  it  is  no  more  so  than  is 
to  be  expected  in  such  cases.  If  there  should  be  no  appear 
ance  of  danger,  I  intend  seeing  you  on  Monday;  otherwise, 
perhaps  not  until  Tuesday,  when  the  worst  of  the  disorder 
will  in  all  probability  be  over.  A  sailor  is  now  here  from 
Reedy  Island,  who  says  that  Captain  Strong  is  arrived 
thither,  and  that  Governor  Rutledge,  together  with  several 
other  gentlemen,  is  passenger  with  him, — perhaps  some  of 
our  gentlemen.  By  the  middle  of  the  week,  and  not  be 
fore,  I  expect  a  sufficient  number  to  proceed  to  business 
will  be  assembled.  I  am,  sir,  with  the  greatest  respect  and 
esteem,  your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

u JACOB  BROOM. 

"P.  S. — General  Washington  lodges  this  night  at  Wil 
mington. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  at  Mrs.  House's, 
Market  Street,  Philadelphia." 

The  delegates  arrived  slowly  at  Philadelphia.  Journeying 
was  tedious, — by  packet-boats  and  s  t  age- w  agon  s ;  there  were 
no  turnpikes,  and  few  bridges,  and  little  competition  on  the 
lines  of  travel  to  accelerate  it.  Let  us  not,  however,  forget 
the  price  for  fast  travelling, —  hecatombs,  who  annually 
perish  by  appalling  disasters  on  steamboats  and  railroads. 
Mr.  Read  wrote  the  following  letter  to  his  friend,  John 
Dickinson,  from 

*  Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  751,  752,  753,  1107,  1113. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  443 

"PHILADELPHIA,  May  21st,  1787. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  have  just  seen  Master  Hicks,  who  says 
he  is  to  return  in  about  an  hour.  It  was  rather  unlucky 
that  you  had  not  given  me  a  hint  of  your  wish  to  be  in  a 
lodging-house  at  an  earlier  day.  Mrs.  House's,  where  I  am, 
is  very  crowded,  and  the  room  I  am  presently  in  so  small 
as  not  to  admit  of  a  second  bed.  That  which  I  had  here 
tofore,  on  my  return  from  New  York,  was  asked  for  Gov 
ernor  Randolph,  it  being  then  expected  he  would  have 
brought  his  lady  with  him,  which  he  did  not,  but  she  is 
expected  to  follow  some  time  hence. 

"I  have  not  seen  Mr.  Bassett,  being  from  my  lodgings 
when  he  called  last  evening.  He  stopt  at  the  Indian 
Queen,  where  Mr.  Mason,  of  Virginia,  stays,  the  last  of 
their  seven  deputies  who  came  in.  We  have  now  a 
quorum  from  six  States,  to  wit:  South  and  North  Carolina, 
Virginia,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  York,  and 
single  deputies  from  three  others, —  Georgia,  New  Jersey, 
and  Massachusetts, — whose  additional  ones  are  hourly  ex 
pected,  and  also  the  Connecticut  deputies,  who  have  been 
appointed,  within  the  last  ten  days,  by  the  Legislature 
there.  We  have  no  particular  accounts  from  New  Hamp 
shire,  other  than  that  the  delegates  to  Congress  were  ap 
pointed  deputies  to  this  convention.  Maryland  you  may 
probably  have  heard  more  certain  accounts  of  than  we  who 
are  here.  Rhode  Island  hath  made  no  appointment  as  yet. 

"The  gentlemen  who  came  here  early,  particularly  [those 
from]  Virginia,  that  had  a  quorum  on  the  first  day,  express 
much  uneasiness  at  the  backwardness  of  individuals  in 
giving  attendance.  It  is  meant  to  organize  the  body  as 
soon  as  seven  States'  quorums  attend.  I  wish  you  were 
here. 

"  I  am  in  possession  of  a  copied  draft  of  a  Federal  system 
intended  to  be  proposed,  if  something  nearly  similar  shall 
not  precede  it.  Some  of  its  principal  features  are  taken 
from  the  New  York  system  of  government.  A  house  of 
delegates  and  senate  for  a  general  legislature,  as  to  the 
great  business  of  the  Union.  The  first  of  them  to  be 
chosen  by  the  Legislature  of  each  State,  in  proportion  to 
its  number  of  white  inhabitants,  and  three-fifths  of  all 
others,  fixing  a  number  for  sending  each  representative. 
The  second,  to  wit,  the  senate,  to  be  elected  by  the  dele- 


444  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

gates  so  returned,  either  from  themselves  or  the  people  at 
large,  in  four  great  districts,  into  which  the  United  States 
are  to  be  divided  for  the  purpose  of  forming  this  senate 
from,  which,  when  so  formed,  is  to  he  divided  into  four 
classes  for  the  purpose  of  an  annual  rotation  of  a  fourth  of 
the  members.  A  president  having  only  executive  powers 
for  seven  years.  By  this  plan  our  State  rnay  have  a  repre 
sentation  in  the  House  of  Delegates  of  one  member  in 
eighty.  I  suspect  it  to  be  of  importance  to  the  small  States 
that  their  deputies  should  keep  a  strict  watch  upon  the 
movements  and  propositions  from  the  larger  States,  who 
will  probably  combine  to  swallow  up  the  smaller  ones  by 
addition,  division,  or  impoverishment;  and,  if  you  have 
any  wish  to  assist  in  guarding  against  such  attempts,  you 
will  be  speedy  in  your  attendance.* 

"Master  Hicks  is  waiting  while  I  write,  and  I  cannot 
proceed  to  further  particulars. 

"I  beg  my  compliments  may  be  presented  to  Mrs.  Dick 
inson,  Miss  Sallie,  and  Mrs.  Thompson,  who,  I  am  told,  is 
with  you,  and  I  am,  with  much  esteem, 

"Yours  sincerely, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"Honorable  JOHN  DICKINSON." 

On  the  25th  day  of  May,  1787,  a  quorum  of  States  being 
present  by  their  deputies,  the  convention  was  organized  by 
the  unanimous  choice  of  George  Washington  for  president, 

*  There  were  three  parties  in  the  convention.  The  first  desired  the 
abolishment  of  the  State  governments,  and  to  establish  a  general  gov 
ernment,  monarchical  in  its  nature,  but  restricted.  The  second  was 
opposed  to  the  annihilation  of  the  State  governments,  and  to  a  mon 
archical  general  government,  but  favored  such  a  one  as  would  give,  as 
they  maintained,  their  rightful  power  to  the  large  States.  But,  as  the 
smaller  held  undue  weight,  the  third  party  held  that  the  delegates  were 
restrained  by  their  elections  and  commissions  from  recommending  any 
thing  beyond  such  alterations  and  additions  as  would  make  the  "Articles 
ot  Confederation"  adequate  to  the  emergencies  of  government  and  the 
preservation  of  the  federal  union  between  the  States.  The  first  party 
joined  the  second.  Sic  scripsit  Luther  Martin. —  Taylor's  New  Views 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  p.  42. 

Delegates  of  the  small  States,  though  preferring  a  national  to  a  fed 
eral  government,  sometimes  acted  and  voted  with  this  third  party  to 
defeat  the  second  in  their  scheme  of  representation  according  to  popu 
lation,  in  the  proposed  national  legislature. 


OF  GEORGE   BEAD.  445 

and  the  election  of  Major  Jackson  as  secretary.  The  dele 
gates  to  the  convention  were  eminent  for  ability,  virtue, 
and  experience  in  public  affairs.  Many  of  them  had  been 
members  of  the  Stamp-act,  or  Continental,  Congress,  and 
some  of  them  of  both,  and  had  filled  the  highest  State 
offices.*  They  proceeded  at  once  to  business.  Mr.  Ran 
dolph  opened  the  great  business  of  the  convention.  After 
stating  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  the  crisis,  the  defects 
of  the  "Articles  of  Confederation,"  and  the  provisions  of  a 
new  constitution,  which  would  remedy  them,  he  submitted, 
as  its  basis,  fifteen  propositions,  which  for  a  fortnight  were 
debated  in  committee  of  the  whole,  and  amended  and  re 
ported  to  the  house,  and  provided  for  a  house  of  delegates 
to  be  chosen  by  the  people  for  three  years,  and  a  senate  to 
be  elected  by  the  State  Legislatures  for  seven  years,  the 
members  of  both  to  be  apportioned  according  to  the  whole 
number  of  free  citizens  and  three-fifths  of  all  other  persons; 
to  be  invested  with  all  the  powers  of  the  Congress  of  the 
Confederacy,  and  additionally  to  legislate  in  all  cases  where 
the  States  were  incompetent  or  their  legislation  would  im 
pair  the  harmony  of  the  Union, — each  to  have  power  to 
originate  acts,  with  a  negative  on  all  State  laws  contrary  to 
its  own,  and  treaties  of  the  general  government;  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Legislature  of  the  Union  to  be  paid  out  of  its 
treasury,  and  incapable  of  holding  offices  created  during 
their  membership  and  a  year  after  it  ceased ;  the  national 
executive  to  be  a  single  person,  chosen  by  the  national 
legislature,  for  seven  years,  ineligible  a  second  time,  to  ap 
point  to  all  offices  not  otherwise  provided  for,  and  to  have 
a  veto  on  all  laws  of  Congress  he  returned  to  it  with  his 
objections,  unless  again  passed  by  a  three-fourths  vote  of 
both  houses;  the  national  judiciary  to  consist  of  a  supreme 
court  (the  judges  of  which  to  be  appointed  by  the  senate 
arid  hold  office  during  good  behavior)  and  of  such  inferior 
tribunals  as  from  time  to  time  might  be  constituted  by  the 
Legislature,  and  their  jurisdiction  to  extend  to  all  cases 
respecting  the  collection  of  the  national  revenue,  impeach 
ment  of  national  officers,  and  the  national  harmony;  pro 
vision  to  be  made  for  the  admission  of  new  States  into  the 


*  Mr.  Dickinson  attended  May  29th. — Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  727. 


446  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Union,  and  for  the  amendment  of  the  national  constitution, 
and  republican  government  guaranteed  to  each  State  by 
the  United  States.  The  right  of  suffrage,  in  both  houses 
of  the  national  legislature,  not  according  to  the  rule  estab 
lished  in  the  Articles  of  Confederation,  but  in  proportion 
to  the  whole  number  of  white  and  other  free  citizens  and 
inhabitants,  including  those  bound  to  servitude  for  a  term 
of  years,  and  three- fifths  of  all  other  persons  not  compre 
hended  in  the  foregoing  description,  except  Indians  not 
paying  taxes.  In  the  debates  in  the  committee  of  the 
whole  upon  Mr.  Randolph's  plan,  or  the  Virginia  plan, 
there  had  been  great  difference  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
mode  of  constituting  the  supreme  legislative  judiciary  and 
executive  departments  of  the  proposed  new  government, 
the  weight  of  the  States  in  them,  and  the  powers  to  be  con 
fided  to  them.  The  debates  upon  these  important  subjects 
elicited  great  ability  and  political  knowledge,  and  were 
marked  by  singular  moderation,  until  the  question  what 
should  be  the  rule  of  suffrage  in  both  houses  of  the  national 
legislature  came  up.  The  greater  States  claimed  a  pro 
portionate,  and  the  smaller  ones  an  equal,  vote  in  both. 
With  the  former  it  was  a  contest  for  power,  but  with  the 
latter  for  existence.  The  decision  in  the  committee  of  the 
whole  was  against  the  smaller  States,  but  the  votes  nearly 
equal.  On  the  14th  of  June  Mr.  Patterson  offered  the 
Jersey  plan,  as  it  was  called.  It  was,  as  stated  by  Mr. 
Madison  (Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  862-3,  note),  " con 
cocted  by  the  deputies  of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Delaware, 
and,  perhaps,  Mr.  Martin,  of  Maryland,  who  made  with 
them  common  cause,  though  on  different  principles.  Con 
necticut  and  New  York  were  against  a  departure  from  the 
principle  of  the  confederation,  wishing  rather  to  add  a  few 
new  powers  to  Congress  than  to  substitute  a  national  gov 
ernment.  New  Jersey  and  Delaware  were  opposed  to  a 
national  government,  because  its  patrons  considered  a  pro 
portionate  representation  of  the  States  to  be  the  basis 
of  it." 

The  New  Jersey  plan  proposed  the  amendment  of  the 
Articles  of  Confederation  by  conferring  on  the  Federal 
Legislature  new  powers, — to  regulate  commerce  with  the 
States  and  foreign  nations,  to  raise  revenue  by  imposts,  and 
collect  by  its  own  authority  requisitions  of  Congress  when 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  447 

not  met  by  the  States.  This  plan  proposed  a  Federal 
Executive,  to  be  plural,  and  a  Federal  Judiciary;  that  acts 
of  Congress  and  treaties  made  and  ratified  by  the  United 
States  should  be  the  supreme  law,  and  that  if  infracted  by 
any  State  or  body  of  men  in  a  State,  the  Federal  Executive 
may  employ  the  power  of  the  Confederated  States  to  compel 
obedience  to  them.  On  the  loth  of  June  the  New  Jersey 
plan  was  referred  to  the  committee  of  the  whole,  and  the 
Virginia  plan  was  committed,  that  they  might  be  considered 
together;  and  thus  the  question  whether  a  national  gov 
ernment  should  be  established  or  not  was  opened  anew.. 
Mr.  Randolph's  plan  was  opposed  because  it  destroyed  the 
sovereignty  of  the  States;  but  chiefly  because  the  conven 
tion,  it  was  asserted,  had  not  power  to  consider  and  propose 
it.  The  two  plans  were  ably  contrasted.  In  the  first,  two 
Houses  of  Congress, — in  the  second,  one  ;  representation  of 
the  people  at  large  the  basis  of  one,  the  other  resting  on 
the  State  Legislatures ;  the  Executive  single  in  one,  plural 
in  the  other;  in  the  one,  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
United  States  must  prevail, — in  the%>ther  a  minority  might; 
in  the  one,  the  national  legislature  were  to  make  all 
necessary  laws, — in  the  other,  a  few  additional  powers  were 
given  to  Congress ;  in  the  one,  there  was  a  negative  on 
unconstitutional  State  laws, — in  the  other,  coercion ;  the 
National  Executive  could  be  removed  in  one  by  impeach 
ment,  if  convicted, — by  the  other,  by  a  majority  of  State 
Executives;  revision  of  laws  and  inferior  tribunals  in  one, 
not  in  other;  jurisdiction  in  one  plan  extended  to  all  cases 
affecting  the  national  harmony,  in  the  other  to  a  few  cases; 
and  the  Virginia  plan  was  to  be  ratified  by  the  people,  the 
Jersey  by  the  State  Legislatures.*  It  was  truly  urged  that 
as  the  convention  concluded  nothing,  it  might  propose  any 
thing,  arid  that  any  defect  of  power  in  the  convention 
would  be  cured  by  the  ratification  by  the  people.  The 
superiority  of  the  Virginia  plan  over  the  New  Jersey  project 
is  so  evident  that  I  have  no  doubt  it  was  true,  as  tauntingly 
charged,  that  the  smaller  States  supported  it  merely  be 
cause  of  the  equality  of  vote  it  secured  them.  New  York 
was,  it  is  very  probable,  antifederal.  Hamilton  opposed 
both  plans,  and  preferred  monarchy.  Admitting  the  irn- 

*  Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  872. 


448  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

practicability  of  making  the  British  form  of  government 
our  model,  on  account  of  the  manners,  laws,  and  way  of 
thinking  of  his  countrymen,  equality  of  property,  absence 
of  entails,  primogeniture,  and  a  nobility,  he  thought  a  na 
tional  government  could  be  formed  strong  enough  to  reduce 
the  State  governments  within  the  limits  necessary  to  its 
answering  its  ends  and  its  permanency.  On  the  15th  of 
June  it  was  resolved  in  the  committee  of  the  whole  that 
the  Virginia  plan  was  the  preferable  one,  and  should  be 
reported  to  the  House, — in  other  words,  the  Jersey  plan  was 
rejected  (Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  904).  Each  article  was 
reconsidered,  many  alterations  proposed,  and  some  of  them 
adopted ;  but,  after  an  animated  debate,  the  proportional 
representation  in  the  House  of  Representatives  was  re 
tained.  The  States  Rights  Party  then  exerted  all  their 
ability  to  secure  an  equal  vote  in  the  Senate ;  a  motion  to 
this  effect  was  lost,  and  they  were  so  disgusted  and  so 
hopeless  that  they  were  on  the  verge  of  withdrawing  from 
the  convention.  To  prevent  this  disastrous  step  a  commit 
tee  of  conference  of  on%  from  each  State  was  appointed,  to 
meet  in  three  days.  In  this  committee  Franklin  success 
fully  offered  the  amendment  that  in  the  lower  House  there 
should  be  representation  in  proportion  to  population,  and 
that  money  bills  should  there  originate,  and  the  States  have 
in  the  Senate  an  equal  vote.  This  committee  reported  July 
5th.  The  smaller  States  hailed  this  report  as  a  triumph, 
but  the  larger  ones  assailed  it,  because  fatal  to  the  predom 
inancy  they  could  only  secure  by  carrying  their  darling 
measure  of  proportionate  vote  in  both  Houses  of  the  National 
Legislature;  but  the  report  was  adopted  July  7th.*  To 

*  "Mr.  Dickinson  said  to  Mr.  Madison:  'See  the  result  of  pushing 
things  too  far.  Some  of  the  members  from  the  smaller  States  wish  for 
two  branches  of  the  National  Legislature,  and  are  friends  to  a  good 
National  government;  but  we  would  sooner  submit  to  a  foreign  power 
than  submit  to  be  deprived  of  an  equal  vote  in  both  branches  and 
thereby  brought  under  the  dominion  of  the  larger  States.'" — Madison 
Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  863. 

"  Franklin's  suggestion,  it  has  been  said  [T  think  truly],  prevented 
the  dissolution  of  the  convention  without  framing  a  constitution,  and  to 
it  we  owe  the  wonderful  fact  that  no  ill  feeling  has  ever  existed  in  a 
State  growing  out  of  the  fact  of  its  superiority  or  inferiority  of  popu 
lation  and  importance.  Rhode  Island  and  Delaware,  Pennsylvania  and 
New  York,  were  thus  made  equal  members  of  the  same  confederacy, 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  449 

this  question,  so  wisely  and  happily  settled  by  compromise, 
immediately  succeeded  others,  as  important,  exciting,  and 
difficult  of  settlement  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  the  States. 
What  should  be  the  number  of  representatives  in  the  lower 
House,  and  should  it  be  invariable  ?  Should  new  States  be 
admitted  into  the  Union  on  the  same  footing  as  the  old? 
Should  wealth  be  represented  or  people  ?  The  rule  of  ap 
portionment — wealth  and  numbers — was  questioned  as 
vague.  Negroes,  it  was  asserted,  were  merely  property, 
and  so  treated  at  the  South,  where  citizens  had  no  addi 
tional  votes  for  their  slaves;  and  if  not  represented  in  the 
slave  States,  why  should  they  be  in  the  National  Legisla 
ture?  Wealth,  it  was  answered,  was  increased  by  the  labor 
of  slaves,  who  ought  to  be  represented  in  a  government 
established  chiefly  to  protect  property.  Upon  what  ground, 
it  was  asked,  were  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  to  be  repre 
sented  ?  If  as  citizens,  why  not  all?  if  as  property,  why 
not  other  property?  It  was  urged  the  commercial  States 
could  not  justly  expect  the  advantages  they  anticipated 
from  the  Union,  unless  they  gave  the  South  equivalents. 
When  a  strong  disposition  was  manifested  to  allow  no 
representation  for  slaves,  Mr.  Davie  declared  the  Southern 
States  would  not  confederate  unless  at  least  three-fifths  of 
them  should  be  represented.  Then  the  proposition  was 
made  to  count  the  blacks  equally  with  the  whites  and  lost, 
and  then  the  three-fifths  ratio  finally  adopted.  The  in 
terests  not  only  of  slaveholders  and  non-slaveholders  came 
in  conflict,  but  those  of  the  Western  and  Atlantic  States, 
and  of  planters  and  merchants.  The  qualification  of  the 
age  of  Congressmen  and  their  term  of  service  were  fixed, 
and  the  proposed  veto  of  Congress  on  unconstitutional 
State  laws  wisely  rejected,  because  impracticable.  The 
propositions  as  to  the  ineligibility  of  the  Executive  for  a 
second  term,  period  of  service,  and  mode  of  choosing  him 
were  much  discussed  and  elicited  differing  opinions,  and 
were  at  last  brought  to  the  provisions  of  the  Constitution 
on  these  points.* 

without  peril  to  the  smaller  and  without  injustice  to  the  larger.  Of  all 
political  expedients  this  was  perhaps  the  happiest  ever  devised.  Its 
success  has  been  perfect, — so  much  so  that  scarcely  any  one  has  re 
marked  it,  unconscious  of  its  working1,  as  a  healthy  man  is  of  digestion." 
— Parton's  Life,  of  Franklin,  vol.  ii.  pp.  575,  576. 
*  Madison's  Papers,  ii.  p.  1187. 


450  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

The  report  of  the  committee  of  the  whole,  thus  amended 
by  the  House  and  adopted,  was  referred  to  a  committee  of 
detail,  to  prepare  and  report  a  constitution  in  conformity 
thereto,  July  24th.  This  committee  in  ten  days  made  a 
report,  so  nearly  approximating  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  that  I  need  not  note  the  points  of  their  dis 
crepancy.  But  there  were  some  new  provisions  reported, 
which,  when  debated,  had  deeply  stirred  the  convention. 
These  were  that  Congress  should  not  pass  navigation  laws,* 
without  the  assent  of  two-thirds  of  the  members  present  in 
each  session,  or  laws  for  the  prohibition  of  taxes  on  exports 
and  the  abolishment  of  the  slave-trade.  But  happily  ex 
treme  views  were  harmonized  by  compromise.  No  restric 
tion  was  imposed  on  the  power  to  regulate  commerce,  and 
taxes  on  exports  were  prohibited,  as  required  by  the 
Southern  and  Middle  States,  while  it  was  conceded  to  the 
South  that  the  slave-trade  should  not  be  abolished  for 
twenty  years;  and  to  reconcile  the  anti-slaveholding  party 
to  this  concession,  it  was  provided  that  a  tax  might  be  laid 
on  each  slave  imported,  not,  however,  to  exceed  ten  dollars. 
The  three  compromises,  to  which  we  owe  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States, — were,  first,  the  equal  representation 
of  the  States  in  the  Senate, — a  concession  to  the  smaller 
States;  second,  the  counting  three-fifths  of  the  slaves  in 
determining  the  ratio  of  representation*)*  (the  consideration 
for  which  was  the  relinquishrnent  of  the  restriction  of  the 
power  to  pass  navigation  laws) ;  and,  third,  the  continuing, 
for  twenty  years,  the  slave-trade  :  and  the  wisdom  and 
patriotism  which  prompted  them  deserve  the  full  amount 
of  praise  they  have  received.  By  the  10th  of  September 
all  the  provisions  reported  to  the  convention  were  debated 
and  passed  upon,  and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
adopted.  Referred  to  a  committee  to  settle  its  arrangement 
and  style,  it  came  from  their  hands  to  be  the  just  object  of 
admiration  as  a  model  in  both  these  particulars;  and  the 


*  The  slave  States  were  hostile  to  navigation  laws,  because  they 
feared  New  England,  excluding,  by  large  tonnage  duties,  foreign  vessels 
from  their  ports,  would  secure  the  monopoly  of  their  carrying  trade. 

f  For  which  concession  to  the  South  the  provision  that  direct  taxes 
should  be  apportioned  according  to  representation  was  the  considera 
tion,  but  more  apparent  than  real,  because  the  national  revenue  would 
generally  be  derived  from  imposts. 


OF  GEORGE   JREAD.  451 

convention,  having  completed  the  great  work  confided  to 
them,  adjourned,  finally,  September  17th,  1787. 

To  the  foregoing  summary  of  the  proceedings  of  the  con 
vention,  which  Mr.  Read's  membership  of  this  body,  it  ap 
peared  to  me,  made  necessary,  I  think  it  proper  to  add  his 
speeches,  as  preserved  in  Mr.  Madison's  Report  of  the  De 
bates  of  the  Convention,  my  object  being  to  present  to  rny 
readers  his  opinions  expressed  in  that  assembly.  "  But 
views,"  says  Mr.  Madison,  "were  often  presented  with  a 
latent  reference  to  compromise  on  some  middle  ground" 
(Madison  Papers,  ii.  p.  7L7);  and  says  Hamilton  (Letter  to 
Colonel  Pickering,  Pitkin's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol. 
ii.  p.  259,  note),  "Neither  propositions  thrown  out  for  debate, 
nor  even  those  voted  in  the  earlier  stages  of  the  proceedings 
of  the  convention,  were  considered  evidence  of  a  definitive 
opinion  in  the  proposer  or  voter." 

"  Mr.  Read.  Too  much  attachment  is  discovered  to  the 
State  governments.  We  must  look  beyond  their  continu 
ance.  A  national  government  must  soon,  of  »nece^sity, 
swallow  them  up.  They  will  soon  be  reduced  to  the  mere 
office  of  electing  the  national  senate.  He  was  against 
patching  up  the  old  Federal  system.  It  would  be  like  put 
ting  new  cloth  upon  an  old  garment.  The  Confederation 
was  founded  on  temporary  principles.  It  cannot  last — 
it  cannot  be  amended.  If  we  do  not  establish  a  new  govern 
ment  on  good  principles,  we  must  either  go  to  ruin,  or  have 
the  work  to  do  over  again.  The  people  at  large  are  wrong 
fully  suspected  of  being  averse  to  a  general  government. 
The  aversion  lies  among  interested  men  who  possess  their 
confidence." — Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  807. 

"On  the  question  of  extending  the  negative  of  the  national 
Legislature  to  all  laws  of  the  States  they  should  judge  im 
proper,  Mr.  Read  and  Mr.  Dickinson  aye,  Messrs.  Bassett 
and  Bedford  no"— Ibid.,  p.  828. 

u  Mr.  Read  favors  Mr.  Gerry's  proposition  to  restrain  the 
Senate  from  issuing  money-bills,  but  would  not  extend  the 
restraint  to  amendments." — Ibid.,  p.  857. 

"  Mr.  Read  moves  that  the  senators  should  hold  their 
seats  during  good  behavior.  Mr.  R.  Morris  seconds  him." — 
Ibid.,  p.  960. 

"  Mr.  Read  moves  that  the  term  of  senators  be  nine  years. 
This  would  admit  of  a  very  convenient  rotation,  one-third 


452  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

going  out  triennially.  He  would  still  prefer  'good  be 
havior,'  but  being  little  supported  in  this  idea,  he  was 
willing  to  take  the  longest  term  that  could  be  obtained." — 
Ibid.,  p.  962. 

a  Mr.  Read  wished  it  to  be  considered  by  the  small  States 
that  it  was  our  interest  to  become  one  people  as  much  as 
possible ;  that  State  attachments  should  be  extinguished  as 
much  as  possible ;  that  the  Senate  should  be  so  constituted 
as  to  have  the  feelings  of  citizens  of  whole." — Ibid.,  p  965. 

"  Mr.  Madison.  The  true  policy  of  the  small  States, 
therefore,  lies  in  promoting  those  principles  and  that  form 
of  government  which  will  most  approximate  the  States  to 
the  condition  of  counties." — Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  982. 

"  Mr.  Read  was  in  favor  of  the  motion  [to  double  the 
number]  of  representatives  proposed  for  each  State  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Two  of  the  States,  Delaware 
and  Rhode  Island,  would  have  but  a  single  member  if  the 
aggregate  number  should  remain  sixty-five,  and  in  case  of 
an  accident  either  of  these  States  would  have  no  represen 
tative  present  to  give  explanations  or  information  of  its 
interest  or  wishes.  The  people  would  not  place  confidence 
in  so  small  a  number.  He  hoped  the  objects  of  the  gen 
eral  government  would  be  much  more  numerous  than 
seemed  to  be  expected  by  some  gentlemen,  and  that  they 
would  become  more  and  more  so.  As  to  the  new  States, 
the  highest  number  in  the  whole  might  be  limited,  and  all 
danger  of  excess  thereby  prevented." — Ibid.,  p.  1062. 

"Mr.  Read  would  have  no  objection  to  the -system  if  it 
was  truly  national,  but  it  has  too  much  of  a  Federal  mix 
ture  in  it.  The  little  States,  he  thought,  had  not  much  to 
fear.  He  suspected  the  larger  States  felt  their  want  of 
energy,  and  wished  for  a  general  government  to  supply  the 
defect.  Massachusetts  was  evidently  laboring  under  her 
weakness,  and  he  believed  Delaware  would  not  be  in  much 
danger  in  her  neighborhood.  Delaware  had  enjoyed  tran 
quillity,  and  he  flattered  himself  would  continue  to  do  so.* 
He  was  not,  however,  so  selfish  as  not  to  wish  for  a  good 

*  Mr.  Grorham,  of  Massachusetts,  said  :  "  What  would  be  the  situa 
tion  of  Delaware^—  (for  these  things  I  find  must  be  spoken  out,  and  it 
might  as  well  be  done  first  as  last) — what  would  be  the  situation  of 
Delaware  in  case  of  a  separation  of  the  States?  would  she  not  be  at 
the  mercy  of  Pennsylvania?" — Madison  Papers,  vol.  ii.  p.  988. 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  453 

general  government;  in  order  to  obtain  one,  the  whole 
States  must  be  incorporated.  If  the  States  remain,  the 
representatives  of  the  larger  ones  will  stick  together  and 
carry  everything  before  them.  The  executive  also  will  be 
chosen  under  the  influence  of  this  partiality,  and  will  be 
tray  it  in  his  administration.  These  jealousies  were  insep 
arable  from  leaving  the  States  in  existence ;  they  must  be 
done  away.  The  ungranted  lands  which  have  been  as 
sumed  by  particular  States  must  be  given  up.  He  repeated 
his  approbation  of  the  plan  of  Mr.  Hamilton,*  and  wished 

*  Colonel  Hamilton's  plan,  from  a  copy  of  it  in  Mr.  Read's  hand 
writing  : 

"  1.  The  supreme  legislative  power  to  be  in  an  Assembly  and  Sen 
ate, — laws  passed  by  them  subject  to  the  after-mentioned  negative. 

"  2.  Senate, — to  serve  during  good  behavior, — to  be  chosen  by  elec 
tors  elected  by  the  people  in  election  districts,  into  which  the  States 
will  be  divided.  In  case  of  death  of  a  senator,  the  vacancy  to  be  filled 
out  of  the  district  whence  he  came. 

"3.  The  supreme  executive  to  be  a  governor  elected,  during  good 
behavior,  by  electors  chosen  by  the  people  in  the  election  districts;  his 
functions, — to  have  a  negative  on  all  laws  about  to  be  passed,  and  the 
execution  of  all  passed;  the  .direction  of  war,  when  declared;  to  make, 
with  the  advice  and  approbation  of  the  Senate,  all  treaties  ;  to  have  the 
sole  appointments  of  the  heads  of  the  departments  of  finance  and  foreign 
affairs,  and  the  nomination  of  all  other  officers  (ambassadors  included), 
subject  to  the  approbation  or  rejection  by  the  Senate  ;  and  the  sole 
power  of  pardon,  except  in  case  of  treason,  in  which  he  shall  exercise 
it,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Senate.  In  case  of  the  death,  re 
moval,  or  resignation  of  the  governor,  his  authority  to  be  exercised  by 
the  President  of  the  Senate  till  his  successor  is  appointed. 

"  4.  The  Senate  shall  have  the  sole  power  to  declare  war;  the  power 
of  advising  and  approving  treaties,  and  the  power  of  approving  or  re 
jecting  all  appointments  of  officers  except  the  chiefs  of  the  departments 
of  finance  and  foreign  affairs. 

"5.  The  supreme  judicial  authority  to  be  in  judges,  to  hold  office 
during  good  behavior,  with  adequate  and  permanent  salaries;  to  have 
original  jurisdiction  in  all  cases  of  capture,  and  appellate  jurisdiction  in 
all  cases  concerning  the  revenues  of  the  general  government,  or  the 
citizens  of  foreign  nations. 

"  6.  The  United  States  Legislature  to  have  power  to  institute  courts 
in  each  State  for  the  determination  of  all  matters  of  general  concern. 

"  7.  All  officers  of  the  United  States  to  be  liable  to  impeachment  for 
malconduct,  and,  on  conviction,  to  removal  from  office,  and  to  be  dis 
qualified  for  holding  any  place  of  trust  or  profit.  Impeachments  to  be 
tried  by  a  court  to  consist  of  the  chief  or  judges  of  the  superior 
court  of  law  of  each  State,  provided  he  hold  his  place,  during  good 
behavior,  and  have  an  adequate  salary. 

"8.  All  laws  of  particular  States, 'contrary  to  the  Constitution  and 


454  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

it  to  be  substituted  for  Mr.  Randolph's." — Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
989,  990. 

"  Mr.  Read  could  not  approve  of  the  motion  [of  Mr. 
Gerry,  that  from  and  after  the  first  meeting  of  Congress, 
till  a  census  should  be  taken,  taxes  should  be  assessed  upon 
the  States  respectively,  according  to  the  number  of  their 
representatives  in  the  first  branch].  He  had  observed  a 
backwardness  in  the  committee  of  some  members  from  the 
large  States  to  take  their  full  proportion  of  representation. 
He  did  not  then  see  their  motive ;  he  now  suspects  it  was 
to  avoid  their  due  share  of  taxation.  He  had  no  objection 
to  a  just  and  accurate  adjustment  of  representation  and 
taxation  to  each  other." — Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  1088. 

"  Mr.  Read  moved  to  insert  after  the  word  ( senate,'  the 
words  '  subject  to  the  negative  to  be  hereafter  provided.' 
His  object  was  to  give  an  absolute  negative  to  the  execu 
tive.  He  considered  this  so  essential  to  the  Constitution 
[for]  the  preservation  of  liberty  and  the  public  welfare, 
that  his  duty  compelled  him  to  make  this  motion." — Ibid., 
vol.  iii.  pp.  1248,  1249. 

"  Mr.  Read  did  not  consider  the  section  as  to  money-bills 
\_i.e.  originating  them]  of  any  advantage  to  the  larger 
States,  and  had  voted  for  striking  it  out.  If  it  was  consid 
ered  by  them  of  an}'  value,  and  as  a  condition  of  the  equality 
of  votes  in  the  senate,  he  had  no  objection  to  its  being  re 
instated." — Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  1270. 

"  Mr.  Read  reminded  him  [Mr.  Rutledge]  that  we  were 
now  forming  a  national  government,  and  such  a  regulation 
[requiring  seven  years'  residence  in  a  State  where  a  mem 
ber  should  be  elected]  would  correspond  little  with  the 
idea  that  we  were  one  people." — Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  1258. 

"Mr.  Read  thought  the  words  ['and  to  emit  bills  on 
the  credit  of  the  United  States'],  if  not  struck  out,  would 


laws  of  the  United  States,  to  be  utterly  void  ;  and  the  better  to  pre 
vent  the  passing  of  such  laws  the  governor  or  president  of  each  State 
shall  be  appointed  by  the  general  government,  and  shall  have  a  nega 
tive  upon  the  laws  about  to  be  passed  in  the  State,  of  which  he  is  gov 
ernor  or  president. 

"  9.  No  State  to  have  any  land  or  naval  force ;  and  the  militia  of  all 
the  States  to  be  under  the  sole  and  exclusive  direction  of  the  United 
States,  who  shall  appoint  and  commission  all  the  officers  thereof." 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  455 

be  as  alarming  as  the  mark  of  the  beast  in  Revelation." — 
Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  1346. 

"Mr.  Read  moved  to  strike  out  the  clause  [to  appoint  a 
treasurer  by  ballot],  leaving  the  appointment  of  the  treas 
urer,  as  of  other  officers,  to  the  executive.  The  Legislature 
was  an  improper  body  for  appointments;  those  of  the  State 
Legislatures  were  proofs  of  it.  The  executive  being  respon 
sible  would  make  a  good  choice." — Ibid  ,  p.  1347. 

"Mr.  Read  doubted  the  propriety  of  leaving  the  appoint 
ment  of  the  militia  officers  to  the  States.  In  some  States 
they  are  elected  by  the  Legislatures, — in  others,  appointed 
by  the  people  themselves.  He  thought  at  least  an  ap 
pointment  by  the  State  Executive  ought  to  be  insisted  on." 
— Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p.  13G4. 

"  General  Pinckney  moved  to  commit  the  clause  [that 
slaves  might  be  made  liable  to  an  equal  tax  with  other 
imports].  Mr.  Read  was  for  the  commitment,  provided  the 
clause  concerning  taxes  on  imports  should  be  also  commit 
ted."—/^.,  p.  1396. 

"  Mr.  Read  moved  that  in  case  the  numbers  for  the  two 
highest  in  vote  for  President  in  the  United  States  Legisla 
ture  (by  which  body,  as  the  third  clause  of  the  tenth  article 
of  the  proposed  constitution  as  it  then  stood,  he  was  to  be 
elected)  should  be  equal,  then  the  president  of  the  Senate 
should  have  an  additional  casting  vote.  This  motion  was 
disagreed  to  by  a  general  negative." — Ibid.,  p.  1490. 

Article  eleventh  being  taken  up,  Dr.  Johnson  suggested 
"that  the  judicial  power  ought  to  extend  to  equity  as  well 
as  law,  and  moved  to  insert  the  words  '  both  in  law  and 
equity'  in  the  first  line  of  the  first  section.  Mr.  Read  ob 
jected  to  vesting  both  these  powers  in  the  same  court,  and 
Dr.  Johnson's  motion  was  agreed  to.  Ayes  6,  noes  2, — 
Delaware  and  Maryland ;  three  absent." — Ibid.,  p.  1345. 

Mr.  Gerry  moved  "that  in  the  election  of  President  by 
the  House  of  Representatives  no  State  shall  vote  by  less 
than  three  members,  and  when  that  number  shall  not  be 
allotted  to  a  State  it  shall  be  made  up  by  its  senators."  Mr. 
Read  observed  "  that  the  States  having  but  one  member  in 
the  House  of  Representatives  would  be  in  danger  of  having 
no  vote  at  all  in  the  election  ;  the  sickness  or  absence  of  the 
representative,  or  either  of  the  senators,  would  have  that 
effect."  Mr.  Madison  replied,  "  If  one  member  of  the  House 


456  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

of  Representatives  be  left  capable  of  voting  for  a  State,  it 
would  still  be  subject  to  that  danger." — Ibid.,  p.  1515. 

Article  first,  section  nine,  u  No  capitation  tax  shall  be 
laid,  unless  in  proportion  to  the  census  or  enumeration 
hereinbefore  directed  to  be  taken,"  being  under  considera 
tion,  "  Mr.  Read  moved  to  insert  after  'capitation'  the  words 
'or  oilier  direct  tax'  He  was  afraid  that  some  liberty  might 
otherwise  be  taken  to  saddle  the  States  with  a  readjustment, 
by  this  rule,  of  past  requisitions  of  Congress,  and  that  his 
amendment,  by  giving  another  cast  to  the  meaning,  would 
take  away  this  pretext.  Agreed  to." — Ibid.,  vol.  iii.  p. 
1579. 

Mr.  Madison  bears  this  emphatic  testimony  to  the  purity 
of  the  members  of  the  convention  and  their  devotion  to  the 
great  task  of  framing  a  new  constitution  for  their  country 
men,  which  they  patriotically  assumed,  when  convinced 
that  the  "  Articles  of  Confederation"  could  not  be  so  amended 
as  to  cure  the  evils  of  which  they  were  the  source  and  which 
could  no  longer  be  endured,  and  to  prevent  their  recurrence. 
"  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  express  my  profound  and  solemn  con 
viction,  derived  from  my  intimate  opportunity  of  observing 
and  appreciating  the  views  of  the  convention,  collectively 
and  individually,  that  there  never  was  an  assemblage  of 
men,  charged  with  a  great  and  arduous  trust,  who  were 
more  pure  in  their  motives,  or  more  exclusively  and  anx 
iously  devoted  to  the  object  committed  to  them,  than  were 
the  members  of  the  Federal  Convention  of  1787." — Ibid., 
vol.  ii.  p.  719. 

The  Constitution  was  signed  by  thirty-five  of  the  fifty-five 
members  who  were  in  attendance  in  the  convention.  Three 
only  of  them — Randolph,  Mason,  and  Gerry — refused  to 
sign,*  and  of  the  residue,  some  who  approved  it  were  com 
pelled  to  leave  Philadelphia  before  it  was  prepared  for  sig- 
nature.f  Of  this  number  was  John  Dickinson,  who,  in  the 
following  note,  empowered  his  friend  Mr.  Read  to  sign  it 
for  him  : 

"  Mr.  Dickinson  presents  his  compliments  to  Mr.  Read, 
and  requests  that  if  the  constitution,  formed  by  the  con- 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  iii.  p.  526. 
f  Pitkin's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  p.  262. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  457 

vent  ion,  is  to  be  signed  by  the  members  of  that  body,  Mr. 
Read  will  be  so  good  as  to  subscribe  Mr;  Dickinson's  name 
—his  indisposition  and  some  particular  circumstances  re 
quiring  him  to  return  home. 
"September  15th,  1787." 

The  Constitution  was  submitted  by  the  convention  to 
Congress,  and  under  a  resolution  of  that  body,  passed  28th 
September,  1787,  transmitted  to  the  Legislatures  of  the 
several  States,  to  be  laid  before  conventions  to  be  elected 
by  the  people ;  and  it  was  recommended  that  as  soon  as  nine 
States  should  ratify,  and  so  (as  provided  by  the  convention) 
establish  it  between  these  States,  Congress  should  provide 
by  the  necessary  law  for  organizing  the  new  government. 

The  Constitution  encountered  immediately  violent  oppo 
sition,  being  discussed  by  all  everywhere  and  in  every  mode.. 
It  was  alleged  by  its  opponents  that  it  created  a  great  con 
solidated  government,  which  must  swallow  up  the  States 
and  endanger  the  liberties  of  their  citizens,  not  secured  by 
sufficient  provisions  in  the  Constitution  itself,  or  in  a  bill  of 
rights  prefixed  to  it.  This  anti-constitutional  party  con 
sisted  of  men  in  debt,  advocates  of  stay  and  tender  laws 
and  paper  money,  puny  politicians,  who  feared  their  impor 
tance  would  be  lessened  or  lost  by  the  surrender  of  State 
powers ;  but  with  them  were  men  who  honestly  doubted 
whether  the  Constitution  proposed  would  form  a  perfect 
union,  establish  justice,  insure  tranquillity,  provide  for  the 
common  defence  and  welfare,  and  secure  to  a  great  people 
and  their  posterity  the  blessings  of  liberty :  and  these  men 
gave  this  party  weight.  But  the  Constitution  had  advo 
cates,  and  most  able  ones,  who  believed  it  would  secure  the 
inestimable  benefits  which  were  its  declared  objects;  and 
they  were  merchants,  creditors,  the  owners  of  property,  the 
educated,  the  moral  and  religious,  throughout  the  Union, 
who  constitute  the  conservative  portion  of  communities  at 
all  times.  They  could  not  be  gainsayed  when  they  pointed 
out  provisions  of  the  Constitution  which  showed  that  it 
established  neither  a  merely  consolidated  nor  federal  govern 
ment,  but  in  truth  a  compound  of  both,  and  that  the  fear 
of  its  swallowing  up  the  States  was  a  chimera,  because  the 
powers  granted  the  general  government  were  few  and  de 
fined,  while  those  reserved  were  many  and  undefined ; 

30 


458  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

because  the  general  government  depended  upon  the  agency 
of  the  States  for  its  existence,  while  they  would  exist  inde 
pendently  of  it ;  because  the  United  States  officers  were  few, 
comparatively,  and  those  of  the  States  many;  because  the 
States  would  have  the  first  place  in  the  affections  of  their 
citizens,  legislating  for  all  their  rights  and  relations,  with 
few  exceptions,  the  general  government  only  having  to  do 
with  things  external  to  them,  and  the  States  having  execu 
tives,  legislatures,  and  militia  to  oppose  encroachments  upon 
their  rights. 

The  Constitution  was  ratified  by  the  State  of  Delaware, 
7th  December,  1787,  she  having  the  honor  of  being  the 
first  of  the  ratifying  States.  I  am  not  aware  that  there 
was  serious  opposition  to  the  Constitution  in  Delaware. 
Her  deputies  were  entitled  to  gratitude  and  applause  for 
the  ability,  zeal,  and  fearlessness  with  which  they  advo 
cated  her  claim  to  an  equal  rank  with  the  larger  States  in 
the  general  government,  and  their  wisdom  in  yielding 
somewhat  of  her  pretensions,  on  this  and  other  points, 
under  the  influence  of  the  generous  disposition  to  mutual 
deference  and  concession  which  characterized  this  illustrious 
assembly,  and  without  which  its  wisdom,  its  knowledge,  its 
ability,  and  its  purity  would  have  availed  nothing  for  the 
attainment  of  the  great  object  it  was  elected  to  accomplish. 
It  appears  by  a  subsequent  letter  of  Mr.  Read  that  he  was 
present  at  the  session  of  the  Delaware  Legislature,  in  Oc 
tober,  1787,  when  the  law  was  passed  which  called  the 
convention  of  her  citizens  that  ratified  the  proposed  Consti 
tution  of  the  United  States. 

The  gentleman  whose  death  was  announced  by  the  fol 
lowing  letter  was  not  only  the  friend  but  connection  of  Mr. 
Read,  Colonel  Cantwell's  father  and  the  Reverend  George 
Ross  having  married  daughters  of  Mr.  Williams,  of  Rhode 
Island. 

"PRINCETON,  September  27th,  1787. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  writing  to  you  on  the 
melancholy  occasion  of  the  death  of  Colonel  Cant  well, 
which  happened  this  evening.  It  was  sudden  and  unex 
pected.  He  sent  for  me  yesterday,  and  I  have  attended  him 
to-day,  but  had  no  apprehension  of  danger  till  an  hour  or  two 
before  his  death.  I  refer  you  to  your  son's  letter  for  par 
ticulars,  and  shall  only  mention  that  I  wish  you  to  take 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  459 

the  most  prudent  manner  to  communicate  this  melancholy 
event  to  his  family.  I  shall  take  the  direction  of  his  fu 
neral,  which  will  be  attended  to-morrow  at  four  o'clock  in 
the  evening.  I  shall  endeavor  to  have  it  conducted  with 
proper  decency  and  respect,  by  the  advice  of  your  son  and 
his  nephew.  I  have  sent  off  this  express,  and  leave  the 
further  proceedings  with  respect  to  informing  his  friends 
entirely  to  you.  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect, 

"Your  humble  servant, 

"  JOHN  BAYARD.* 
"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Del.,  per  express." 

The  following  letter  of  Dr.  Witherspoon  was,  no  doubt, 
very  gratifying  to  Mr.  Read  : 

"  PRINCETON,  October  2d,  1787. 

"  SIR, — As  your  sonf  leaves  us  to-morrow,  I  take  the 
opportunity  of  signifying  to  you  that  he  and  his  companion, 
Mr.  Jones,  have  given  great  satisfaction  to  us  by  their  be 
havior,  and  I  hope  will  be  an  honor  to  us  by  their  improve 
ment.  Indeed,  we  are  happy  in  the  students  that  have 
come  to  us  from  your  State.  If  you  have  any  opportunity 
of  seeing  Mr.  Van  Dyke,  please  assure  him  that  his  sonj 
is,  I  think,  without  doubt,  the  first  in  his  class.  I  have 
conversed  a  little  with  your  son  as  to  his  future  studies, 
and,  if  he  cannot  return  here,  shall  willingly  write  him 
my  opinion  upon  that  subject.  It  requires  a  very  extensive 
knowledge  of  books  to  make  a  learned  man,  but  careful 
reading  of  books,  well  chosen,  will  do  much  to  make  a  truly 
intelligent  man. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient,  humble 
servant, 

"JOHN  WITHERSPOON." 

Mr.  Read  wrote  to  the  widow  of  Colonel  Cantwell  as 
follows  : 

"NEW  CASTLE,  December  18th,  1787. 

"  DEAR  MADAM, — I  am  told  that  a  Captain  Li  tie,  a  gen 
tleman  resident  at  Princeton,  known  to  Colonel  Cantwell, 

*  Colonel  Cantwell  went  to  Princeton  to  attend  the  commencement 
of  the  college. 

f  John,  who,  with  Cantwell  Jones,  had  just  graduated, 
j  Nicholas.     See  Appendix  B. 


460  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

is  now  at  Philadelphia,  and  has  expressed  a  desire  to  be  in 
formed  whether  it  is  your  intention  to  remove  the  corpse  of 
Colonel  Cantwell  from  its  present  burying-place  or  not,  that 
if 'not  he  may  direct  the  covering  up  of  the  grave  in  a  neces 
sary  and  -proper  manner  before  any  severe  frost  may  come 
on.  With  respect  to  this  removal,  I  can  only  repeat  the 
opinion  I  entertain  of  it,  and  expressed  to  you  when  I  saw 
you  last,  to  wit,  that  if  it  was  [the  case  of]  my  -dearest 
connection  I  should  not  make  the  removal  unless  such  had 
been  the  request  of  the  dying  person.  I  consider  the 
present  place  of  Colonel  Cantwell's  burial  a  respectable  one, 
and  far  preferable  to  any  private  burial-place  on  a  farm, 
which  passeth  too  suddenly  out  of  the  family  whose  re 
mains  have  been  placed  there.  Two  striking  instances  of 
this  occur  presently  to  my  memory,  to  wit,  that  of  B.  Chew, 
whose  family  burying-place  is  on  a  farm,  where  his  family 
lived,  near  Dover,  which  has  been  sold  some  years  to  a 
person  in  no  ways  connected  with  this  family,  though  true 
it  is  that  the  burial-place  is  well  inclosed  with  a  brick  wall; 
but  this  must  decay,  and  when  the  present  generation  is 
passed  away  there  may  be  no  trace  of  this  inclosure.  The 
other  instance  is  that  of  the  gentleman  I  studied  the  law 
with.  He  had  his  family  burying-place  in  his  garden,  on  a 
farm  he  owned,  within  three  miles  of  Philadelphia,  und 
where  he,  after  his  death,  was  interred;  and  in  the  course 
of  twenty-five  years  since  the  owners  of  this  farm  have 
been  changed  two  or  three  times;  so  that  I  most  certainly 
approve  of  church-yards  in  preference  to  any  private  burial- 
place  ;  and  as  to  families  lying  together,  it  hath  received  a 
sanction  from  early  custom,  but,  when  seriously  reilected 
upon,  it  cannot  be  considered  as  momentous.  There  can  be 
no  difficulty,  I  apprehend,  in  meeting  with  or  discovering 
one  another  in  the  other  world,  and  as  to  the  decaying 
matter  of  which  our  bodies  are  formed,  it  soon  mixes  with 
the  earth.  So  that  I  am  clearly  of  opinion  the  decaying 
remains  of  my  friend  should  be  permitted  to  rest  where 
they  are  presently.  It  was  the  will  of  Providence  that  he 
should  part  with  life  at  Princeton,  and  there  they  should 
lie  undisturbed.  You  must  pardon  the  freedom  I  have 
taken  in  expressing  my  opinion  on  this  subject,  as  it  is  not 
binding  or  conclusive  upon  you.  I  am  still  confined  to  my 
chamber,  and  cannot  say  when  I  can  be  with  you.  This 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  461 

cold  weather,  with  its  increase,  which  must  shortly  be  ex 
pected,  will  confine  me  to  the  house  for  a  time,  supposing 
I  was  rid  of  my  disorder,  which  is  not  the  case  with  me, 
though  I  hope  I  shall  shortly,  as  I  find  myself  rather  better 
each  day,  and  acquire  some  more  strength.  My  son  Jacky 
has  an  intermittent  [fever],  principally  owing  to  his  affec 
tionate  attendance  on  me  lor  some  nights  following  each 
other,  which  prevents  him  from  visiting  you  as  he  intended 
at  this  time.  All  my  family  join  in  their  compliments  to 
you,  Miss  Sally,  and  Cant  well,  and  I  am  yours,  very  sin 
cerely, 

" GEORGE  READ.' 

"Colonel  Bedford  waits  upon  you  for  the  purpose  of 
granting  letters  of  administration  on  Colonel  Cantwell's 
estate. 

"  MRS.  SARAH  CANT  WELL." 

None  but  a  cursory  reader  of  Mr.  Read's  letter  to  Mrs. 
Cant  well  can  conclude  that  he  thought  and  felt  with  those 
who  have  considered  it  a  matter  of  indifference  whether 
our  lifeless  bodies  should  be  buried  or  burned,  cast  forth  a 
feast  to  carrion  birds  or  left  to  fester  in  corruption  on  the 
surface  of  the  earth.  That  any  one  should  so  conclude  I 
would  much  regret,  because  those  thus  thinking  and  feeling 
have  been  almost  without  exception  of  that  miserable 
school,  foes  of  men  as  well  as  of  God,  who  have  held  death 
to  be  an  eternal  sleep,  or  at  least  of  the  thoughtless  if  not 
vicious  throng  who  have  lived  and  died  without  testing  the 
claims  of  Divine  revelation  to  be  believed,  or  even  enter 
taining  the  question  of  its  truth  or  falsehood.  But  it  is 
evident  that  Air.  Read  considered  as  proper  and  desirable 
both  the  decent  burial  of  the  dead  and  the  preservation  of 
their  remains  inviolate,  from  his  rendering  cordial  thanks 
to  Colonel  Bayard  for  the  very  proper  interment  of  his 
friend,  and  his  preference  of  the  public  to  the  private  bury- 
ing-ground,  which  otherwise  would  have  been  to  him  matters 
of  no  moment. 

Wherever  man  has  dwelt  on  our  globe  he  has  left  evi 
dence  not  to  be  mistaken  of  his  reverential  regard  to  the 
remains  of  the  dead,  in  the  pyramid,  the  mummy,  the  cata 
comb,  the  mound,  and  the  carefully-inclosed  cemetery, 
which  are  expressions  of  a  universal  belief  in  the  immor- 


462  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

tality  of  the  soul  and  the  resurrection  of  the  body.  For  if 
the  body  be  not  raised  and  reunited  to  the  spirit,  why  such 
care  to  preserve  it?  This  evidence  of  these  doctrines  was 
of  great  value  to  those  who  had  not  our  clear  revelation  of 
these  truths.* 

I  cannot  concur  in  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Read  that  the 
interring  of  families  together  is  a  matter  of  no  moment ; 
for  to  me,  and  I  believe  to  men  generally,  in  the  view  of 
separation  from  dear  friends,  the  hope  is  consoling  that, 
united  in  life  by  the  closest  ties,  even  in  death  the  mortal 
parts  shall  not  be  divided.  The  dying  command  of  Jacob 
was  not  only  "  bury  me  in  Canaan,"  but  "  with  my  fathers.'* 
Though  it  could  be  almost  demonstrated  that  particles  of 
the  bodies  grouped  in  the  family  burying-place  have,  by 
mysterious  processes  of  nature,  escaped  from  their  cold,  and 
dark,  and  narrow  prison-houses,  we  should  still  cling  to  the 
belief  that  the  graves  of  our  friends,  faithful  to  their  trusts, 
ever  hold  the  precious  deposit  of  their  remains, — at  least 
till  science  should  show  that  they  do  not  retain  the  germs 
of  the  incorruptible  and  immortal  bodies  in  which  the  de 
parted  shall  stand  on  the  earth  with  their  Redeemer,  in  the 
latter  day,  glorious. 

Mr.  Read  replied  to  the  foregoing  letter  of  Colonel 
Bayard : 

''December  18th,  1787. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  had  yours  of  the  27th  of  September  last, 
respecting  the  death  of  Colonel  Cantwell,  at  Princeton,  and 
your  intended  care  and  direction  of  his  funeral ;  and  on  the 
evening  following  the  day  I  received  it  I  prevailed  on  Mrs. 
Read  to  wait  on  Mrs.  Cantwell  and  Miss  Jones,  her  niece, 
in  order  to  disclose  to  them  the  unhappy  tidings  in  a  proper 
manner.  I  happened,  luckily,  to  have  a  client  with  me  of 
Colonel  Cantwell's  neighborhood  at  the  receipt  of  your  let 
ter,  wrho  undertook  to  deliver  a  letter  from  me  to  Mrs. 
Cantwell,  mentioning  his  being  dangerously  ill  at  Prince 
ton,  and  that  it  might  be  necessary,  perhaps,  that  some  of 


*  "  The  great  care  of  funerals,  and  decently  interring-  the  dead,  Cicero 
induces  as  a  consequence  of  the  belief  in  the  soul's  immortality." — In 
Lselion:  Cicero,  De  R epublica. — Quoted  in  Barrow's  Sermons,  vol.  v. 
p.  197. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  463 

his  family  should  prepare  themselves  to  attend  him ;  but 
that  I  should  have  a  more  satisfactory  account  to  transmit 
of  his  situation,  perhaps,  by  the  evening  of  the  next  day. 
This  was  delivered  by  my  messenger,  according  to  his  en 
gagement,  and  the  bare  appearance  of  Mrs.  Read  in  the 
afternoon  confirmed  the  supposition  of  Colonel  C.'s  death. 
Mrs.  Cantwell  was  then  confined  to  her  room,  and  her  niece 
very  unwell  by  a  close  attendance  on  her  aunt,  so  that  if 
the  funeral  could  have  been  delayed  a  day  or  two,  neither 
could  have  attended  Upon  Cantwell  Jones  coming  down, 
he  exhibited  to  me  the  respective  bills  and  receipts  for 
moneys  you  had  been  kind  enough  to  pay  out  of  the  money 
Colonel  Cantwell  happened  to  have  with  him.  I  had  not 
an  opportunity  to  see  Mrs.  Cantwell  until  the  22d  of  Octo 
ber,  on  my  way  to  Dover  to  attend  a  session  of  our  General 
Assembly.  I  came  from  thence  very  unwell,  and  was  soon 
after  confined  to  rny  room,  where  I  still  am,  with  a  remit 
ting  fever  which  has  proved  obstinate  and  tedious,  and  this 
is  my  apology  for  the  delay  of  answer  to  your  kind  and 
friendly  letter.  Wishing,  in  the  first  instance,  to  inform 
you  of  the  sense  Mrs.  Cantwell  had  of  your  friendly  and 
humane  conduct  in  the  illness  of  her  husband,  and  after 
wards  in  the  very  decent  interment  of  his  remains,  when  I 
had  this  in  my  power  by  her  personal  acknowledgment, 
my  subsequent  sickness  has  delayed  my  transmitting  to 
you  the  very  grateful  sense  Mrs.  Cantwell,  her  niece,  and 
nephew  have  of  your  conduct  and  management  of  this 
business.  I  now  offer  to  you  their  and  rny  most  cordial 
thanks  for  your  trouble  and  attention  to  the  funeral  of 
Colonel  Cantwell  and  during  his  illness.  Whether  the 
corpse  is  to  be  removed  to  the  family  bury  ing- pi  ace  on  his 
farm  or  not  I  believe  is  undetermined.  When  I  saw  Mrs. 
Cantwell  she  then  expressed  such  intention,  and  asked  rny 
opinion  ;  in  her  then  situation  I  avoided  being  very  ex 
plicit,  though  I  then  expressed  my  opinion  against  the 
removal ;  however,  I  have  this  day  wrote  her  my  senti 
ments  freely  and  fully  on  the  subject  of  removal,  disap 
proving  the  measure.  My  son  John,  whom  you  saw  at 
Princeton,  wishes  me,  through  you,  to  present  his  compli 
ments  to  your  son  Samuel;  and,  as  I  have  heard  of  your 
late  matrimonial  connection,  I  sincerely  wish  you  and  your 
good  lady  to  experience  all  the  happiness  which  attends 


464  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

that  state.    And  I  am,  with  much  esteem  and  respect,  your 
most  ohedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"  Colonel  JOHN  BAYARD,  Philadelphia." 

The  year  1787  closed  and  1788  opened  upon  the  people 
of  thirteen  States  greatly  excited  and  agitated.  The  pro 
posed  Constitution  was  before  them,  to  be  tried  by  its  merits, 
and  they  were  soon  arrayed  in  two  great  parties, — the  Fed 
eralists,  who  approved,  and  the  Anti-Federalists,  who  re 
jected  it ;  designations  so  in  felicitously  applied  as  each  to 
be  expressive  of  opinions  the  opposite  of  those  of  the  party 
it  distinguished.  The  pen,  the  tongue,  and  the  press  were, 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land,  unceasingly, 
for  months,  employed  in  discussing  the  new  system  of  gov 
ernment.  It  would  have  been  little  honorable  to  the  people 
had  their  interest  in  the  great  question  submitted  to  them 
been  less ;  and  if  we  regret  the  intemperance,  and  even  vio 
lence,  which  sometimes  occurred,  we  wonder  they  were  so 
infrequent,  when  we  consider  the  momentous  interests  in 
volved,  and  the  amount  of  ignorance,  prejudice,  and  selfish 
ness  the  advocates  of  the  Constitution  encountered.  Dela 
ware,  having  the  honor  of  first  ratifying  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States  (and  it  was  unanimously  and  without 
amendment),  December  7th,  1787,  was  followed  by  nine  of 
her  sister  States — two  of  them.  Pennsylvania  and  New 
Jersey,  ratifying  it  in  that  month,  and  the  last,  Virginia, 
in  June,  1789.  The  opposition  in  some  of  the  State  con 
ventions  had  been  so  strong,  and  the  majorities  for  ratifying 
the  new  plan  of  government  so  small,  as  to  make  it  doubt 
ful  whether  or  not  a  majority  of  the  whole  people  of  the 
United  States  had  approved  and  adopted  it,  and  some  un 
certainty,  therefore,  darkened  the  future  of  the  Constitution. 
The  opposition  was  led  in  Virginia  and  New  York  by  men 
of  great  ability  and  long  prominent,  having  filled  the  high 
est  offices  of  these  States  and  rendered  great  services.  In 
Virginia,  Henry,  one  of  their  leaders,  if  he  electrified  his  con 
vention  by  displays  of  the  wonderful  oratorical  power  of  his 
early  career,  discovered  little  of  the  sagacity  and  foresight 
of  the  statesman.  His  forebodings  were  most  gloomy. 
"Should  this  system,"  exclaimed  he,  "go  into  operation, 
nothing  will  be  left  to  the  States  but  to  take  care  of  the 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  465 

poor,  repair  and  make  highways  and  bridges,  and  so  on  and 
so  on."  But  it  soon  appeared  that  these  dark  forebodings 
were  merely  the  offspring  of  a  distempered  fancy.  So  far 
from  being  reduced  to  insignificance,  Virginia  could  point 
with  honorable  pride  to  four  of  her  citizens  elevated  to  the 
chief  magistracy  of  the  Union,  who  administered  its  affairs 
for  more  than  the  fourth  of  a  century  with  signal  ability, 
wisdom,  and  patriotism  during  the  most  difficult  and  criti 
cal  periods  of  its  history;  and  through  them  and  others  of 
her  citizens,  eminent  in  the  halls  of  Congress,  in  statesman 
ship,  in  diplomacy,  and  jurisprudence,  exercised  a  great  if 
not  controlling  influence  in  national  affairs.  The  opposition 
of  New  York  was,  I  regret  to  believe,  deeply  tinctured  by 
the  sordid  desire  to  retain  the  power  she  enjoyed  of  filling 
her  treasury  by  imposts  on  commodities  her  neighbors  must 
receive  through  her  city,  already  an  important  town,  and 
soon  to  be  one  of  the  great  marts  of  the  world,  from  her 
location  on  the  magnificent  estuary  of  the  Hudson,  whose 
waters,  flowing  from  sources  far  inland,  mingled  at  a  short 
distance  from  her  safe  and  capacious  harbor  with  the 
ocean.*  "The  little  States,"  said  Mr.  Grayson  in  the  Vir 
ginia  convention,  "  have  carried  their  point" — he  meant  the 
equal  vote  secured  them  in  the  United  States  Senate.  If 
they  carried  this  point,  it  was  by  the  ability,  zeal,  and  de 
termination  they  manifested  in  contending  for  it,  and,  want 
ing  it,  they  would  have  baen  without  safeguard  against  the 
ambition  or  the  avarice  of  the  larger  States,  and  to  have 
believed  that  they  would  always  rise  above  these  passions 
must  have  manifested  not  magnanimity  but  folly.  The 
great  objection  to  the  Constitution — to  wit,  that  it  created 
a  consolidated  government — was  fallacious ;  and  its  defect, 
it  appears  to  me.  was  principally  the  want  of  provisions 
such  as  are  embraced  in  bills  of  rights,  declaring  the  invio 
lability  of  the  liberty  of  the  press,  the  trial  by  jury,  freedom 
of  conscience,  and  the  like,  which  defect  was  supplied  by 
subsequent  amendments. 

The  Constitution  having  been  ratified  by  the  number  of 
States  necessary  to  its  going  into  operation,  the  States  that 
had  ratified  it  took  the  steps  preliminary  to  the  election  of 
the  officers  who  must  administer  it.  The  State  of  Delaware, 


*  Ilildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  38. 


466  LIFE  AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

by  an  act  of  Assembly  passed  in  1788,*  directed  the  time, 
place,  and  manner  of  holding  an  election  for  representative 
in  Congress  and  electors  of  President  and  Yice-President ; 
and  the  Governor  of  Delaware,  by  his  proclamation  of  the 
24th  of  January.  17S9,j-  declared  that  at  an  election  held 
on  the  first  Wednesday  of  that  month,  John  Vinin£  was 
elected  representative  to  Congress,  and  Gunning  Bedford 
(the  elder),  John  Banning,  and  George  Mitchell,  electors  of 
President  and  Yice-President  of  the  United  States.  These 
electors  met  at  Dover,  February  4th,  1789,  and  cast  three 
votes  for  George  Washington  as  President  and  John  Jay 
as  Vice- President  J  George  Read  and  Richard  Bassett  were 
previously  chosen  by  the  Legislature  of  Delaware  United 
States  Senators. 

Of  Mr.  Read's  correspondence  in  the  year  1788  only 
three  letters  have  been  preserved. 

The  cities  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia  were  com 
petitors  for  the  honor  and  advantage  of  being  the  place 
where  the  new  government  should  be  inaugurated ;  and  as 
this  question  would  be  decided  by  the  Continental  Congress, 
and  other  important  business  would  be  before  it,  Mr.  Dick 
inson  urged  Mr.  Read  to  exert  his  influence  to  induce  a 
full  representation  of  the  State  of  Delaware  in  that  body, 
in  the  following  letter: 

"WILMINGTON,  July  5th,  1788. 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — Yesterday  and  to-day  I  have  re 
ceived  letters, — one  from  Tench  Coxe,  the  other  from 
Charles  Thomson, — by  which  I  learn  that  Congress  is  very 
soon  to  fix  upon  a  place  for  commencing  the  operations  of 
the  Federal  government,  and  that  Philadelphia  will  un 
questionably  be  chosen,  if  Delaware  shall  be  represented. 

"  There  are,  besides,  many  important  determinations  to 
be  made,  that  render  it  in  the  highest  degree  necessary  that 
this  State  should  be  immediately  represented.  The  absence 
of  one  man  has  frequently  confused  our  public  affairs.  I 
expect  it  will  be  so  again,  but  I  am  discharging  what  I 
esteem  a  duty,  and  earnestly  request  that  every  measure 


*  Laws  of  Delaware,  vol.  ii.  p.  931. 

f  Delaware  Gazette,  January  31st,  1789. 

I  Ibid.,  No.  192,  14th  February,  1789. 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  467 

which  shall  appear  proper  may  be  taken  to  give  this  State 
a  vote  in  the  business  that  is  coming  on. 

"  I  am  thy  sincere  friend, 

"JoiiN  DICKINSON. 
"  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire." 

The  writer  of  the  graceful  letter  which  is  next  presented 
to  the  reader  had  filled  the  office  of  secretary  to  the  con 
vention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  was  now  a  candidate  (but  unsuccessfully)  for  the  sec 
retaryship  of  the  United  States  Senate. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  December  10th,  1188. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  will  not  wrong  my  belief  of  your  good 
ness  by  offering  an  apology  for  the  freedom  I  am  about  to 
use,  nor  will  I  presume  to  bespeak  your  regard  by  making 
any  pretensions  to  public  favor.  The  one  and  the  other 
will  be  more  properly  referred  to  the  graciousness  of  your 
disposition  towards  me,  and  the  knowledge  which  observa 
tion  may  have  afforded  you  of  my  character  and  conduct. 
A  predilection  for  public  life  has  determined  me  to  wish  for 
such  a  situation  under  the  Federal  government  as  may  lead 
to  the  acquirement  of  political  knowledge,  in  an  honorable 
walk,  and  the  advice  of  particular  friends  has  pointed  to 
the  secretaryship  of  the  Senate  as  the  most  eligible  station 
on  which  I  may  presume  to  place  a  hope  of  success.  Per 
suaded  of  the  weight  your  recommendation  will  carry  with 
it  to  the  gentlemen  who  may  be  appointed  Senators,  I  beg 
leave  to  commit  my  wishes  to  your  patronage,  should  you 
regard  my  request  as  consistent  with  your  governing  prin 
ciple, — the  public  good.  I  am  aware  of  the  competition 
which  will  arise  in  the  pursuit  of  this  object,  but  my  hopes 
are  greatly  strengthened  when  I  flatter  myself  that  a  friend 
as  influential  and  generously  inclined  as  Mr.  Read  may  find 
himself  at  liberty  to  countenance  my  wish. 

"  With  the  most  respectful  attachment,  I  am,  dear  sir, 
your  obliged  and  obedient  servant, 

"  W.  JACKSON.* 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

*  Samuel  Allyne  Otis  was  the  first  Secretary  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  and  held  this  office  for  five-and-twenty  years,  and  until  his 
death,  in  1811. 

"  Mr.  Otis  was  a  most  pleasant   companion  at  home  and  abroad. 


468  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Mr.  Read's  old  friend  and  associate  in  the  United  States 
Admiralty  Court  wrote,  at  this  time,  in  favor  of  another 
candidate  for  the  secretaryship  of  the  United  States 
Senate,  from 

"NEW  YORK,  December,  It 8 8. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR. — I  am  solicited  by  Mr.  John  Livingston 
and  his  friends  to  ask  your  interest  for  him  as  clerk  of  the 
Senate,  under  the  new  constitution.  He  has  acted  as  my 
secretary,  while  President  of  Congress,  is  sensible,  and 
writes  a  good  hand.  I  flatter  myself  with  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you  in  New  York,  before  I  quit  it, — I  hope  some 
time  in  March. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  real  friendship  and  regard, 
your  affectionate,  humble  servant, 

"C.  GRIFFIN. 

'-  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

In  1788  Mr.  Read  was  assailed  in  a  pamphlet,*  by  a 
writer  under  the  signature  of  "  Timoleon."  The  writer  was 
uDr.  Tilton,"  who  had  filled  the  office  of  "surgeon-general" 
of  the  American  army,  and  had  been  a  member  of  the  Con 
tinental  Congress.  He  charged  Mr.  Read,  under  the  cog 
nomen  of  "Dionysius,  the  Tyrant  of  Delaware,"  with  having 
been,  through  the  whole  of  the  recent  Revolutionary  con 
test,  at  heart  a  Tory,  imputing  interest  and  ambition  as  the 
motives  of  his  political  course,  but  bringing  not  one  proof 
to  support  his  charge,  which  therefore  rests  on  his  unsup 
ported  assertions.  Dr.  Tilton  had  been  loan  officer  and 
State  treasurer  at  the  same  time,  and  Mr.  Read,  believing 
these  offices  to  be  incompatible,  after  a  long  contest  before 
the  Council  of  Delaware,  carried  an  amendment  to  a  tax- 
When  at  Philadelphia,  I  lived  in  constant  habits  of  intimacy  with  the 
family,  and  was  witness  of  the  cheerfulness  and  urbanity  of  his  man 
ners,  which  in  public  life  secured  him  against  the  shafts  of  malice.  He 
was  always  moderate,  and  never  imposed  his  own  opinions  upon  those 
who  dissented  from  him  on  political  questions, — firm  in  his  own,  he  left 
others  the  same  liberty.  For  twenty-five  years  he  retained  the  love  and 
esteem  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  He  adorned  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity,  which  he  professed,  having  been  liberal,  candid,  and 
charitable.  His  uniform  temperance  promised  a  longer  life  than  was 
his,  but  few  of  the  infirmities  of  old  age  were  discoverable  in  him." — 
Letters  of  Mrs.  Adams,  Wife  of  John  Adams,  pp.  417,  418. 

*  The  dedication  of  this  pamphlet  bears  date  August  20th,  1783. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  469 

bill  of  the  Assembly  of  Delaware,  declaring  them  to  be  so, 
which  caused  Dr.  Tilton's  resignation  of  the  office  of  treas 
urer;  and  another  amendment  to  the  same  bill,  censuring 
him  for  having  illegally  declined  to  issue  certificates  of  in 
terest  on  certain  debts  of  the  United  States,  which  certifi 
cates,  by  an  act  of  the  United  States  Congress,  were  re 
ceivable  for  one-fourth  of  the  requisition  of  that  body,  A.D. 
1782,*  on  the  States;  and  further,  Mr.  Read  moved  resolu 
tions,  which  were  adopted,  setting  forth  the  misstatements 
of  facts  in  the  protest  of  Dr.  Tilton  against  these  proceed 
ings.  All  of  which  is  prominently  stated  in  his  pamphlet, 
with  evident  bias  and  bad  temper.  I  will  not  assert  that 
malice  prompted  this  pamphlet,  but  I  state  these  facts, 
from  which  vindictive  feeling  in  its  writer  towards  the  man 
he  attacked  may  (with  probability)  be  inferred.  Mr.  Read 
never  deigned  a  reply  to  this  assault.  Had  he  felt  the 
necessity  of  defending  himself  against  it,  he  might  have 
appealed  to  his  public  services  and  the  uninterrupted  con 
fidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  in  his  integrity,  manifested 
undeniably  by  his  election  to  office  through  a  long  period, 
and  to  a  long  life  of  honorable  labor  in  his  profession,  upon 
which  the  lynx-eye  of  his  enemy  could  find  no  stain ;  and 
I  may  appeal  to  the  letters,  in  the  preceding  chapters  of 
this  biography,  of  the  most  prominent  Whigs  in  Delaware, 
as  evidence  that  they  esteemed  and  respected  him  as  de 
voted,  not  less  sincerely  than  themselves,  to  the  cause  of 
their  country.  That  this  pamphlet  in  no  degree  diminished 
the  public  confidence  in  Mr.  Read's  integrity,  may  be  truly- 
inferred  from  his  election,  immediately  after  it  appeared,  to 
the  United  States  Senate,  and  to  his  being  solicited,  while 
holding  that  honorable  office,  by  Governor  Clayton,  to  ac 
cept  the  chief  justiceship  of  Delaware.  It  is  with  some 
hesitation  that  I  have  disinterred  this  long-forgotten  pam 
phlet,  but.  professing  to  write  the  life  of  my  grandfather,  it 
seemed  to  me  disingenuous  to  pass  it  without  notice.  In 
the  "Delaware  Gazette,"  at  the  close  of  1788  and  beginning 
of  1789,  are  several  articles  in  defence  of  the  party  assailed 
with  "Dionysius"  as  Tories  by  "Timoleon,"  but  no  allusions 
to  the  imputations  against  him.  Timoleon  was  evidently 
an  ultra  and  rabid  Whig,  and  as  to  the  animus  of  his 

*  See  Chapter  V. 


470  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

pamphlet,  whatever  can  be  fairly  ascribed  to  the  narrow 
ness,  injustice,  prejudice,  and  distorted  and  jaundiced  views 
of  a  political  partisan,  may  be  deducted  from  the  malice 
which,  the  candid  reader  may  conclude,  incited  its  author 
to  defame  his  fellow-citizens.  "Of  Mr.  Read,"  wrote  Ti- 
moleon,  page  96  of  his  pamphlet,  "it  was  predicted  by  an 
Adams,  with  great  sagacity,  long  ago,  that,  'if  ever  he  got 
his  foot  upon  the  threshold,  he  would  make  his  way  into 
the  cabinet  of  any  government.' " 

The  year  1789  is  memorable  in  the  annals  of  the 
United  States  for  the  inauguration  of  the  Constitution, 
under  which,  in  general  wisely  administered,  but  not  with 
out  grave  errors,  they  have  enjoyed  extraordinary  pros 
perity. 

There  were  already  aspirants  to  office  under  the  new 
government,  and  Mr.  Read  was  beset  with  solicitations  for 
his  influence  and  good  offices  for  some  of  them.  None  in 
the  wide  circle  of  his  friends  and  acquaintance  would  be 
more  regarded  than  John  Dickinson,  who  wrote  to  him  in 
favor  of  Major  Jackson,  from 

"WILMINGTON,  January  27th,  1789. 

"MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — Major  Jackson  has  requested  me  to 
use  my  influence  to  assist  him  in  attaining  the  secretary 
ship  of  the  Senate.  His  merit  is  so  considerable  and  well 
known  that  I  cannot  believe  that  anything  I  can  say  can 
be  of  use.  If  the  present  Secretary  of  Congress  does  not 
desire  the  place,  I  shall  wish  the  major  to  succeed,  and  I 
beg  thee  to  speak  to  thy  colleague  on  the  subject.  Colonel 
Pierce  of  Savannah,  who  sat  with  us  in  the  convention, 
applies  to  me  for  my  assistance  in  procuring  him  the  ap 
pointment  to  the  collectorship  of  that  port.  I  shall  be  very 
glad  if  he  shall  be  approved  by  the  Senators  of  this  State. 
"  I  am  thy  sincere  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON." 

Colonel  Heth  deserved,  no  doubt,  the  high  character 
given  him  in  the  following  letter : 

"RICHMOND,  February  12th,  1789. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Among  the  arrangements  of  office  which 
will  most  likely  take  place  in  the  United  States,  some  will 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  471 

probably  be  peculiar  to  the  different  States.  As  I  am  con 
fident  that  a  knowledge  of  characters  here  would  assist 
those  in  whose  hands  this  business  rests,  I  shall  not  scruple 
to  request  your  particular  attention  to  my  friend  Colonel 
William  Heth.  He  was  an  officer  of  distinguished  merit 
in  the  Virginia  line,  and  is  now  a  member  of  our  Executive 
Council,  where  I  can  testify  to  his  services  having  been, 
during  my  connection  with  that  board,  independent  and 
judicious.  In  the  department  of  accounts,  I  can  pledge 
myself  for  his  accuracy  and  assiduity,  and  I  am  persuaded 
that  I  might  risk  my  reputation  on  whatsoever  he  shall 
undertake.  I  should  add  an  apology  for  troubling  you  on 
this  occasion,  were  it  not  that  I  have  the  happiness  to 
believe  that  my  recommendation  will  not  be  unacceptable 
to  you,  and  I  feel  an  assurance  that  I  am  presenting  to  the 
acceptance  of  the  United  States  a  gentleman  in  whom  you 
cannot  be  deceived. 

u  I  am,  dear  sir,  with  great  respect  and  esteem,  your  most 
obedient  servant, 

"  EDMUND  KANDOLPH.* 

"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  importunity  of  the  letter  next  inserted  ought  to  find 
excuse  in  the  frank  confession  by  the  writer,  of  the  unhappy 
circumstances  to  which — once  a  prosperous  merchant — he 
wras  reduced. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  March  4th,  1789. 

u  DEAR  SIR, — I  promised  myself  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
you  before  you  went  to  New  York,  agreeably  to  my  earn 
est  request  contained  in  my  letter  of  the  23d  ultimo,  sent 
you  by  post ;  but  as  I  arn  disappointed,  I  will  tell  you  what 
I  particularly  wanted  to  see  you  for.  I  have  applied  to 
Mr.  Morris,  before  he  set  off  for  New  York,  and  requested 
his  assistance  to  procure  me  some  office  under  Congress,— 
which  he  kindly  assured  me  he  would  willingly  do.  The 
Senate,  I  think,  has  the  power  of  recommending  to  the 
President  for  appointments  to  offices  belonging  to  the  col 
lection  of  duties  and  excise.  I  would  be  glad  to  be  ap 
pointed,  either  by  myself  or  with  a  colleague,  to  the  excise, 
etc.,  or  to  the  office  which  Dr.  Greene  formerly  held,  and 

*  See  Appendix  C. 


472  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

[which]  is  now  held  by  Mr.  Phyle,  or  to  a  commissionership 
of  bankrupts  (Mr.  Shippen  was  formerly  in  that  office),  or 
even  —  if  Congress  should  remove  hither  —  to  some  judi 
ciary  station.  In  short,  I  must,  my  dear  old  friend,  tell 
you  plainly  that  I  shall  starve  unless  some  appointment  is 
gotten  for  me.  My  brothers,  Isaac  and  Charles,  will  give 
any  security  that  may  be  necessary  for  me.  I  have  plainly 
told  you  my  case,  and  I  hope  you  will  speak  to  Mr.  Morris 
about  it,  as  soon  as  you  receive  this  letter,  and  do  what  you 
can  for  me,  and  you  will  greatly  oblige 

"  Your  affectionate  friend, 

"  SAMUEL  WHARTON. 

"  Pray  present  my  kind  regards  to  Mr.  Morris.  I  shall 
write  to  Mr.  Clymer  and  Mr.  Fitsimmons.  Please  speak 
to  Colonel  Grayson  about  me.  He,  I  am  persuaded,  will 
cheerfully  do  what  he  can  for  me. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

On  the  4th  of  March,  the  day  for  the  inauguration  of  the 
new  constitution,  there  was  not  a  quorum  of  either  house 
of  Congress  in  New  York.  In  part  it  may  have  been  from 
the  little  facility  enjoyed  for  quick  travelling,  but  chiefly, 
I  am  afraid,  from  the  procrastination  and  indifference  to 
public  duty,  into  which  official  persons  had  too  generally 
fallen  during  the  decrepitude  of  the  Confederacy.  The 
Senators  in  New  York,  impatient  at  the  laches  of  their  col 
leagues,  addressed  them  the  following  circular  : 


YORK,  March  llth,  1789. 
"  SIR,  —  Agreeably  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  eight  members  of  the  Senate  and  eighteen  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  have  attended  here  since  the  4th 
of  March.  It  being  of  the  utmost  importance  that  a  quorum 
sufficient  to  proceed  to  business  should  assemble  as  soon  as 
possible,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  gentlemen  of  both  houses 
that  information  of  their  situation  be  immediately  com 
municated  to  the  absent  members.  We  apprehend  that  no 
arguments  are  necessary  to  evince  to  you  the  indispensable 
necessity  of  putting  the  government  into  immediate  opera 
tion,  and  therefore  request  that  you  will  be  so  obliging  as 
to  attend  as  soon  as  possible. 


OF   GEOEGE   READ.  473 

"We  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient,  humble 
servants, 

"  JOHN  LANGDON,  PAINE  WINGATE,  CALEB  STRONG,  WIL 
LIAM  MACLAY,  WILLIAM  SAMUEL  JACKSON,  OLIVER  ELLS 
WORTH,  ROBERT  MORRIS,  W.  FEW. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  CastLe, 
Delaware  State." 

The  writer  of  the  following  letter  was  an  eminent 
merchant  of  Philadelphia  and  a  millionaire,  and  afterwards 
a  member  of  the  United  States  Senate. 

"PHILADELPHIA,  March  15th,  1789. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  will  make  no  apology  for  soliciting  yotir 
suffrage  in  favor  of  Major  Jackson,  who  is  a  candidate  for 
the  secretaryship  of  the  Senate,  who,  by  a  discharge  of  such 
duties  [as  of  this  post]  when  in  a  similar  situation  under 
the  convention,  must  have  made  a  due  impression  on  you. 
with  respect  to  his  qualifications.  From  a  personal  inti 
macy  I  know  him  [to  be]  possessed  of  every  quality  that 
can  insure  your  esteem  and  support.  I  shall  regard  myself 
as  under  an  obligation  to  you  for  every  effort  made  by  you 
in  his  favor. 

"  I  am,  with  respect,  sir,  your  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  WILLIAM  BINGHAM. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Nearly  three  weeks  had  elapsed  since  the  4th  of  March, 
and  still  there  was  no  quorum  of  the  houses  of  Congress  in 
New  York.  Mr.  Read  did  not,  I  believe,  from  his  general 
character  as  a  public  man,  deserve  the  reproach  of  neglect 
of  duty,  to  which  his  protracted  absence  from  his  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate  exposed  him.  Unfortunately  I  hare 
no  letter  of  his  accounting  for  it,  but  as  he  states  in  his 
letter  (p.  481)  to  Mr.  Dickinson  that  he  came  sick  to  New 
York,  it  is  highly  probable  that  sickness  prevented  his  early 
attendance  in  Congress.*  The  plain  language  and  earnest 

*  Monday,  April  13th,  1789. — Honorable  Ralph  Izard,  of  South  Caro 
lina,  Charles  Carroll,  from  Maryland,  and  the  Honorable  George  Read, 
from  Delaware,  severally  produced  their  credentials  and  took  their 
seats  in  the  Senate. — Journal  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  vol,  i. 
pp.  10,  11. 

31 


474  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

expostulation  of  Charles  Thomson  in  the  following  letter 
evinced  his  patriotism  and  friendship  for  Mr.  Read : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  March  21st,  1789. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  have  received  the  favor  of  your  letter  of 
the  14th  by  Mr.  Bassett,  and  shall  be  very  happy  to  show 
him  all  the  civilities  in  my  power;  but  I  am  extremely 
mortified  that  you  did  not  come  with  him.  Those  who  feel 
for  the  honor  and  are  solicitous  for  the  happiness  of  this 
country  are  pained  to  the  heart  at  the  dilatory  attendance 
of  the  members  appointed  to  form  the  two  houses,  while 
those  who  are  averse  to  the  new  constitution,  and  those 
who  are  unfriendly  to  the  liberty,  and,  consequently,  to  the 
happiness  and  prosperity  of  this  country,  exult  at  our  lan 
guor  and  inattention  to  the  public  concerns,  and  flatter 
themselves  that  we  shall  continue,  as  we  have  been  for 
some  time  past,  the  scoff  of  our  enemies.  It  is  now  almost 
three  weeks  since  the  day  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the 
two  houses  and  for  commencing  the  operations  under  the 
new  constitution,  and  there  are  not  enough  arrived  to  form 
either  house  and  to  count  the  ballots,  to  see  who  is  elected 
President  or  Vice-President.  What  must  the  world  think 
of  us?  But  what  in  particular  mortifies  me  in  respect  to 
you  is  that  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  your  absence 
will  alone,  on  Monday  next,  prevent  the  Senators  from 
forming  a  house,  and  at  the  same  time  there  is  reason  to 
believe  there  will  be  a  sufficient  number  to  form  the  House 
of  Representatives,  so  that  the  eyes  of  the  continent  will 
be  turned  on  you,  and  all  the  great  and  important  business 
of  the  Union  be  at  a  stand  because  you  are  not  here.  I 
must  therefore,  as  a  friend,  intreat  you  to  lay  aside  all  lesser 
concerns  and  private  business,  and  come  on  immediately. 
When  the  house  is  full,  as  your  distance  from  home  will 
not  be  great,  and  as  the  conveyance  by  the  stage  is  easy, 
safe,  and  rapid  when  the  roads  are  good,  you  may,  I  doubt 
not,  obtain  leave  to  return  and  settle  any  business  you  may 
leave  unfinished.  Be  pleased  to  present  my  compliments 
to  your  lady.  I  write  in  the  confidence  of  friendship,  being, 
with  sincere  regard,  your  old  friend  and  humble  servant, 

"CHARLES  THOMSON.* 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

*  See  Appendix  C  2. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  475 

It  seems  from  the  letter  of  the  representative  in  Congress 
from  Delaware,  John  Vining,  which  follows,  that  State 
attachment  and  interest  so  much  predominated  at  this 
period  as  to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  higher  duties  to 

the  Union : 

"April  1st,  1789. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — You  have  doubtless  before  this  heard  of  the 
death  of  our  late  worthy  president,  Mr.  Collins,  which 
melancholy  circumstance  took  place,  somewhat  unexpect 
edly,  on  Sunday  last.  In  consequence  of  this  event,  we  are 
informed  that  the  Assembly  will  be  convened  on  the  20th 
of  the  present  month  for  the  purpose  of  filling  the  vacancy. 
Our  politicians  seem  a  good  deal  perplexed  in  their  ideas 
about  a  successor.  Messrs.  McKinley,  Clayton,  Bassett  and 
McDonough  have  all  their  partisans  in  this  part  of  the 
State.*  I  had  forgot  to  mention  his  Honor  Mr.  Sykes,  who, 
if  I  may  judge  from  his  appearance,  would  very  much  like 
the  office.  You  will  very  much  oblige  me  by  communi 
cating  the  latest  information  which  you  may  have  received 
from  New  York,  as  my  movements  must,  circumstanced  as 
I  am,  very  much  depend  upon  the  necessity  of  the  case.  If 
it  could  possibly  be  reconciled  to  anything  like  propriety, 
both  my  private  convenience  and  public  wishes  would  unite 
in  keeping  me  here  until  the  Assembly  rise,  which,  I  pre 
sume,  will  be  very  shortly  after  they  meet.  Your  ideas 
upon  this  subject,  as  well  as  on  any  other  in  which  you 
may  think  proper  to  advise  me,  will  ever  be  in  friendly 
acceptance  to  your  very  respectful  and  obedient,  humble 
servant, 

"  JOHN  ViNiNG.f 

"  The  bearer  of  this  has  promised  to  call  on  you  as  he 
returns  from  Wilmington. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 

This  letter  is  indorsed,  "  Received  3d  April,  and  an 
swered  same  day." 

James  Booth,  the  writer  of  the  letter  next  laid  before  the 

*  The  President  of  Delaware  (article  seven,  Constitution  of  1776)  was 
eligible  by  joint  ballot  of  both  the  houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  Joshua 
Clayton  was  chosen  (30th  May,  1789)  to  fill  the  vacancy  by  the  death 
of  Mr.  Collins. 

f  See  Appendix  D. 


476  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

reader,  had  been  for  several  years  Clerk  of  the  General 
Assembly  of  Delaware,  was  secretary  to  the  convention 
which  framed  the  Constitution  of  1776,  held  several  offices 
in  New  Castle  County  connected  with  the  courts,  and  finally 
that  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  being 
the  immediate  successor  of  Richard  Bassett  for  more  than 
thirty  years.  He  was  a  man  of  sound  judgment,  unspotted 
integrity,  and,  though  not  trained  to  the  bar,  of  sufficient 
legal  knowledge.  His  stature,  features,  and  figure  were 
good,  and  his  dress  and  address  those  of  an  old-school  gen 
tleman.  He  was  an  influential  Federalist,  and  was  indebted 
for  his  high  social  position,  not  to  his  birth  or  family,  wealth 
or  influence,  but  to  his  exertion,  perseverance,  tact,  and 
good  conduct.  He  died  3d  February,  1828,  in  the  seventy- 
fifth  year  of  his  age,:i:  lamented  by  his  family,  his  friends, 
and  the  community  in  which  he  had  lived  from  his  child 
hood. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  April  24th,  1789. 

"  SIR, — As  I  suppose  a  system  of  commercial  regulation 
and  impost  will  be  soon  adopted  by  the  United  States,  and 
that  the  State  appointments  in  that  department  will  of 
course  cease,  I  beg  leave  to  solicit  you  for  a  continuance  in 
the  Naval  Office  of  this  county,  which  I  now  hold.  I  was 
appointed  to  that  office  early  in  1777,  have  been  continued 
by  subsequent  appointments,  and  I  flatter  myself  that  during 
the  time  I  have  exercised  the  duties  of  it  neither  want  of 
attention  nor  want  of  fidelity  will  be  imputed  to  me.  Under 
these  circumstances  I  should  feel  great  regret  at  being  de 
prived  of  this  office  by  that  government  which  I  so  anxiously 
wish  to  see  permanently  established.  I  hope,  too,  that  no 
objections  will  arise  to  my  appointment  from  my  holding 
other  offices, — they  may  diminish.  The  clerkship  of  the 
Assembly  I  shall  be  obliged  to  resign,  from  the  inadequacy 
of  the  late  allowance  [for  this  office].  But  if  I  am  fortunate 
enough  to  succeed  in  my  application,  permit  me  to  assure 
you  that  my  conduct  shall  be  marked  by  an  unremitted 
attendance  to  the  duties  of  the  office,  and  that  I  shall  retain 
the  most  grateful  impression  of  the  favor.  Many  applica 
tions  have,  I  understand,  been  made  by  persons  residing  in 
Wilmington,  grounding  their  pretensions  principally  upon 

*  Born  6th  February,  1753. 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  477 

the  position  that  the  officer  should  reside  in  the  place  where 
the  business  is  to  be  transacted.  The  inhabitants  of  Wil 
mington  never  have,  to  my  knowledge,  complained  of  in 
convenience  heretofore ;  it  has  been  prevented  by  the 
business  having  been  transacted  there  under  my  direction, 
and  many  of  the  trading-people  have  expressed  to  me  their 
entire  satisfaction.  It  must  be  confessed  that  almost  all 
the  foreign  commerce  carried  on  by  the  citizens  of  this 
State  is  from  the  borough  [of  Wilmington]  ;  but  I  can 
allege,  with  as  great  truth,  that  as  great  and  perhaps  a 
greater  number  of  vessels  enter,  during  the  summer  and 
fall  seasons,  at  New  Castle, — generally  those  in  the  Irish 
trade  and  those  bound  to  Philadelphia,  where  parts  of 
their  cargoes  belong  to  Baltimore,  stop  at  New  Castle ;  these, 
taken  together,  are  at  least  equal  to  the  number  of  vessels 
trading  from  Wilmington.  The  reasoning  upon  which 
these  applications  are  grounded  would  not,  I  conceive,  avail 
them  in  exclusion  of  others ;  it  would  only  go,  if  proper,  to 
show  that  there  ought  to  be  an  officer  in  every  part  of  a 
district  where  importations  can  be  made.  When  I  speak 
of  the  applications  from  Wilmington,  it  is  from  information 
only.  I  am  unable  to  ascertain  whether  they  are  for  the 
Naval  Office  or  others  that  are  expected  to  be  instituted 
under  the  revenue  system  of  the  United  States. 

"  I  have  no  news  to  communicate  worthy  your  attention. 
Our  Supreme  Court  is  over  in  this  county, — two  trials  only 
were  had  during  its  sittings. 

"  Mrs.  Read  and  your  family  are  very  well. 

"  I  am,  w^ith  every  sentiment  of  respectful  regard,  sir, 
your  most  obedient,  humble  servant, 

"  JAMES  BOOTH. 

"Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

A  quorum  of  the  House  of  Representatives  having  been 
obtained  on  the  1st,  and  of  the  Senate  on  the  6th,  of  April, 
the  votes  for  President  and  Vice-President  were  counted  by 
the  Senate,  and  the  election  of  Washington  and  Adams  as 
certained  and  declared.  Charles  Thomson  bore  to  General 
Washington  the  official  announcement  that  his  fellow- 
citizens  had  unanimously  called  him  to  the  chief  magistracy 
of  the  general  government  just  established.  He  obeyed  the 
call  with  diffidence  unaffected,  and  the  purpose  to  tread 


478  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  difficult  path  of  duty  it  opened  before  him  without  de 
flecting  to  the  right  or  left  from  favor  to  any  man,  or  fear 
of  any,  and  with  the  resolve  to  devote  to  the  service  of  his 
country  all  the  ability  God  had  endowed  him  with,  and  all 
the  fruit  of  his  long  experience  in  public  affairs.  An  enter 
tainment  and  address  from  his  immediate  neighbors,  es 
pecially  gratifying  to  him,  awaited  him  at  Alexandria,  on 
the  commencement  of  his  journey  to  New  York.  He  was 
escorted  by  troops  of  cavalry,  and  attended  by  committees, 
and  addressed  by  municipal  authorities,  and  greeted  by 
thousands  of  his  fellow-citizens  with  shouts  of  welcome, 
and  ringing  of  bells,  and  salutes  of  artillery,  and  brilliant 
illuminations,  as  he  passed,  from  Virginia,  through  Mary 
land,  Delaware,  Pennsylvania,  and  Jersey.  His  receptions 
were  most  remarkable.  At  the  Schuylkill,  where,  as  he 
passed  beneath  a  triumphal  arch,  a  civic  crown  of  laurel 
descended  upon  his  head ;  and  at  Trenton,  where,  on  the 
bridge  crossing  the  little  stream  running  through  it  (the 
Assanpink),  was  a  triumphal  arch  (emblematical,  I  suppose, 
of  the  Union),  supported  by  thirteen  pillars,  representing 
the  thirteen  States,  wreathed  with  evergreens  and  flowers. 
As  the  Father  of  his  Country  passed  beneath  it,  he  was 
saluted  by  a  band  of  ladies,  each  leading  her  daughter  by 
the  hand,  clad  in  white,  bearing  a  basket  of  beautiful  and 
fragrant  flowers,  which  they  scattered  before  him,  chanting 
an  ode  in  his  praise,  which  has  been  preserved,  not  for  its 
merit,  but  the  occasion  for  which  it  was  written.  There 
was  not  a  spectator  of  this  beautiful  pageant  who  did  not 
revert  to  the  night  of  January,  1777,  when  the  watch-fires 
of  Washington's  army  mingled  their  gleams  with  those  of 
the  British,  only  separated  from  it  by  the  Assanpink,  the 
wailing  night-winds,  as  they  swept  by,  chilling  the  half- 
clothed  American  soldiers,  who,  by  the  brilliant  generalship 
of  their  commander, — not  slain,  or  prisoners,  or  fugitives, 
as  Cornwallis  expected, — when  the  sun  of  the  next  morn 
rose  brightly  upon  them,  entered  Princeton  to  hold  it  as 
conquerors.  At  Elizabeth  town-point,  in  Jersey,  the  Pres 
ident-elect  was  received  by  a  committee  of  Congress,  and 
conveyed,  in  a  splendid  barge,  rowed  by  thirteen  pilots  in 
white  dresses,  and  escorted  by  many  boats  and  barges  filled 
with  rejoicing  citizens.  Landing  under  salutes  from  the 
Battery  in  New  York  and  the  vessels  in  her  harbor,  he  was 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  471) 

escorted  to  the  house  of  Governor  Clinton,  where  he  was 
sumptuously  entertained,  and,  as  soon  as  night  shrouded 
the  city,  it  was  lighted  up  by  brilliant  fireworks.  On  the 
30th  of  April,  1789,  General  Washington,  on  a  balcony 
fronting  the  Senate-chamber,  took  his  oath  of  office,  in 
presence  of  thousands  of  his  countrymen,  who  responded 
with  loud  and  joyous  shouts  to  the  Chancellor  of  the  State 
of  New  York,  who,  as  the  lips  of  the  beloved  and  revered 
chief  magistrate  touched  the  sacred  volume,  splendidly 
bound  in  crimson  and  gold,  exclaimed,  "Long  live  George 
Washington,  President  of  the  United  States  !"  The  Presi 
dent  then  returned  to  the  Senate-chamber,  and  delivered 
his  inaugural  speech,  and  then,  with  both  houses  of  Con 
gress,  repaired  to  St.  Paul's  Church,  where  divine  service 
was  performed  by  Bishop  Provost  of  the  Protestant  Epis 
copal  Church  in  the  United  States.  These  patriots  thus 
crowned  this  day,  worthy  to  be  held  in  perpetual  remem 
brance,  with  a  solemn  religious  service,  for  they  held  the 
great  truth,  declared  in  most  eloquent  words  by  Franklin, 
in  the  convention  that  framed  the  constitution  they  had 
just  inaugurated,  "That  God  governs  in  the  affairs  of  men, 
and,  if  a  sparrow  cannot  fall  without  his  notice,  an  empire 
cannot  rise  without  his  aid  and  blessing." 

James  McHenry,  the  writer  of  the  following  letter,  was 
appointed  Secretary  of  War,  by  Washington,  January  20th, 
1796.  He  was  born  in  Maryland,  educated  as  a  physician, 
inherited  a  fortune,  and  had  served,  in  the  war  just  ter 
minated,  as  an  aid  to  Lafayette.  The  principal  defence  of 
Baltimore,  a  fort  on  the  Patapsco,  still  bears  his  name.* 

"BALTIMORE,  12th  May,  1789. 

"SiR, — The  bearer,  Captain  Barney,f  of  this  place,  whose 
distinguished  conduct  in  the  naval  line  is  well  known, 
wishes  to  devote  his  whole  life  to  the  service  of  his  country, 
for  wrhich  purpose  he  is  desirous  to  obtain  some  appoint 
ment,  under  the  United  States,  congenial  with  his  profes 
sion,  where  he  may  remain  till  he  can  be  more  usefully 
employed.  As  it  is  likely  cruisers  will  be  put  in  commis 
sion  to  protect  the  trade,  and  to  prevent  frauds  in  the 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  571. 
f  For  a  notice  of  Commodore  Barney,  see  Appendix  E. 


480  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

revenue,  permit  me  to  recommend  him  to  your  good  offices, 
as  a  person  in  every  respect  qualified  for  a  commander  of 
one  of  them.  He  is  brave  and  prudent,  an  old  Continental 
sea-captain,  a  skilful  sailor,  and  of  the  strictest  honor. 
Suffer  me  to  request  you  to  introduce  him  to  your  colleague, 
and  to  assure  you  of  my  most  profound  respect  and  esteem. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"JAMES  MCHENRY. 
"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 

While  the  House  of  Representatives  was  engaged  upon 
the  bill  providing  revenue  by  duties  upon  imports,  the 
Senate  was  considering  the  bill  to  establish  the  courts  of 
the  United  States.*  A  copy  of  this  bill  was  communicated 
by  Messrs.  Read  and  Bassett  to  John  Dickinson  and  Gun 
ning  Bedford,  requesting  them  to  examine,  and  return  it  to 
them  with  such  suggestions,  in  regard  to  its  provisions,  as 
they  might  think  proper  to  make. 

"NEW  YORK,  June  16th,  1789. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — As  the  bill  to  establish  the  judicial  courts 
of  the  United  States  is  for  the  consideration  of  the  Senate, 
Mr.  Bassett  and  myself  have  thought  it  our  duty  to  trans 
mit  the  inclosed  copy  of  the  same  to  you  for  your  perusal 
and  comments  upon  its  respective  provisions,  hoping  that 
we  may  obtain  them  in  time  before  the  Senate  shall  have 
entered  upon  the  third  reading — the  second  reading  being 
appointed  for  Monday  next,  as  in  a  committee  of  the  whole  ; 
after  which  it  is  to  be  gone  over  on  such  its  second  reading 
in  the  Senate,  as  a  house.  Mr.  Bassett  and  myself  hope 
that  we  shall  be  favored  in  time  with  a  return  of  the  copy, 
with  your  observations  thereon  in  its  margin.  And  we 
must  beg  the  favor  of  you  to  give  the  attorney-general,  Mr. 
Bedford,  an  opportunity  to  peruse  and  consider  this  copy, 
expecting  his  observations  also.  We  are  so  restricted  in 

*  The  Senate,  on  the  15th  May,  1789,  carried  into  effect  the  pro 
vision  in  the  second  clause,  third  section,  article  first  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  and  Mr.  Head  was  allotted  to  the  class  No.  1,  whose 
seats  would  be  vacated  at  the  expiration  of  the  second  year  from  the 
time  of  their  election,  but  was  re-elected,  and  presented  his  credentials 
at  the  session  of  the  Senate  specially  convened  for  the  transaction  of 
executive  business,  March  4th,  1791. — Journal  of  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States,  pp.  25,  26,  324.  See  Appendix  F. 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  481 

our  number  of  copies  that  we  could  not  afford  one  to  each 
of  them. 

"The  establishment  intended  by  this  bill  is  so  important 
and  general  in  its  concern  that  the  representation  of  the 
Delaware  State  in  Congress  wish  to  have  the  aid  of  all  that 
information  you,  sir,  and  other  law  characters  can  or  may 
please  to  afford  them  on  this  occasion. 

"The  same  committee  who  reported  this  bill  are  pre 
paring  another,  for  prescribing  and  regulating  the  process 
of  those  respective  courts.  Another  committee  are  em 
ployed  on  a  bill  declaring  crimes  and  offences  against  the 
United  States  and  their  punishments. 

"The  impost  bill  has  taken  up  much  time  in  both  houses. 
It  is  now  on  its  return  to  the  Senate,  with  a  disagreement 
to  many  of  the  amendments  made  there,  which  will  proba 
bly  produce  a  conference.  The  bill  for  regulating  the  col 
lection  of  the  impost  is  yet  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
in  an  incomplete  State. 

"The  minutes  of  the  Senate,  which  are  ordered  to  be 
printed  monthly  for  publication,  are  now  at  the  press,  and 
the  public  papers  will  disperse  them  shortly. 

"  I  came  to  this  place  in  ill  health,  and  continued  so  for 
some  time.  I  am  now  tolerably  well  recovered,  and  shall  be 
glad  to  hear  of  you  and  your  family's  good  health,  to  all  of 
whom  please  to  give  my  most  respectful  compliments ;  and 
I  am,  with  much  esteem,  your  most  obedient  and  affection 
ate,  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"The  Honorable  JOHN  DICKINSON." 

Mr.  Dickinson  replied  to  this  letter  from 

"  WILMINGTON,  June  24th,  1189. 

"Mr  DEAR  FRIEND, — Thy  favor  of  the  16th  inst.  I  re 
ceived  on  the  22d,  in  the  evening,  and  am  much  obliged  for 
that  and  the  inclosure. 

"  I  have  given  the  bill  such  imperfect  attention  as  the 
shortness  of  time,  weakness  of  health,  frequency  of  inter 
ruptions,  and  the  novelty  of  its  provisions  would  permit, 
and  have  made  some  notes  in  the  margin,  as  you  requested. 
I  then  sent  it  to  the  attorney-general,  informing  him  that 
his  observations  were  expected.  It  is  now  returned. 


482  LIFE  AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

"There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  all  the  parts  are  very 
intelligible  to  gentlemen  who  have  been  present  at  their 
frequent  discussion,  know  the  intricacies  of  their  mutual 
dependence  and  of  their  relation  to  the  Constitution,  but  to 
me  it  appears  the  most  difficult  to  be  understood  of  any 
legislative  bill  I  have  ever  read. 

"  Is  it  possible  or  agreeable  to  the  Constitution  to  estab 
lish  an  appeal  from  the  decisions  of  the  Supreme  Court  in 
cases  where  that  court  has  original,  exclusive  jurisdiction  ? 
or  is  it  right  and  best  that  the  single  determination  of  that 
court  in  such  instances  should  be  irreversible  ? 

"  I  sincerely  rejoice  to  hear  of  the  re-establishment  of  thy 
health.  Polly  and  Sally  desire  to  be  most  respectfully  pre 
sented,  and  I  am,  as  ever,  thy  truly  affectionate  friend, 

"  JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Senator,  New  York." 

The  Attorney-General  of  Delaware,  it  appears  from  his  fol 
lowing  letter  to  Mr.  Read,  entertained  an  opinion  more  favor 
able  to  the  proposed  bill  for  establishing  the  courts  of  the 
United  States  than  that  expressed  of  it  by  Mr.  Dickinson  : 

"WILMINGTON,  June  24th,  1789. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Your  letter  of  the  16th  only  came  to  my 
hands  this  morning,  and  Mr.  Dickinson  last  evening  sent 
me  a  copy  of  the  proposed  law,  with  a  request  that  I  would 
make  my  observations  on  it  and  return  it  to  him  this  morn 
ing,  to  be  sent  back  to  New  York  by  this  day's  post. 

"  I  should  ill  requite  the  honor  done  me  by  the  com 
munication,  and  but  abuse  the  confidence  reposed  in  me, 
were  I  to  attempt  any  remarks  on  a  subject  of  so  much 
importance,  so  entirely  new  to  me,  with  so  little  time  for 
reading  or  reflection.  To  those  who  have  thoroughly  di 
gested  the  whole  system,  and  who  have  considered  this  as 
the  foundation  upon  which  the  most  grand  and  elegant 
superstructure  of  jurisprudence  is  to  be  built,  crude  and 
hasty  thoughts  can  give  no  information.  The  objects  are 
too  extensive  and  complicated  for  me  so  immediately  to 
understand  that  I  might  make  a  just  criticism  on  this  pro 
posed  bill.  It  appears  to  me  a  noble  work,  and  must  do 
the  frame rs  of  it,  as  well  as  our  government,  great  credit. 
I  flatter  myself  our  State  governments  will  have  wisdom 
enough  to  follow  the  example  in  new  modelling  their  legal 
systems. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  483 

"It  will  be  very  difficult  accurately  to  define  the  juris 
diction  of  the  Federal  courts,  so  as  to  prevent  controversies 
with  the  State  courts.  Indefinite  expressions,  unavoidably 
made  use  of,  will  create  difficulties.  Common  law  and 
statute  law  are  referred  to  in  the  act.  Have  the  States  the 
same  accurate  and  fixed  idea  of  both  or  either  as  applied  to 
themselves  individually  or  to  the  States  generally?  Do  we 
refer  to  the  common  law  and  statute  law  of  England  ?  This 
is  derogatory.  What,  then,  is  the  common  and  statute  law 
of  the  United  States  ?  It  is  difficult  to  answer.  Yet  the 
dignity  of  America  requires  that  it  be  ascertained,  and  that 
where  wre  refer  to  laws  they  should  be  laws  of  our  own 
country.  If  the  principles  of  the  laws  of  any  country  are 
good  and  worthy  of  adoption,  incorporate  them  into  your 
own.  I  think  we  ought  not  to  refer,  at  this  day,  to  the  law 
of  any  nation  as  the  rule  of  our  conduct.  This  is  the  mo 
ment  for  legal  emancipation ;  as  the  foundation  is  laid  so 
must  the  superstructure  be  built.  Pardon  these  observa 
tions,  sir,  I  am  transgressing  my  own  bounds.  Your 
good  sense  would  rather  censure  than  approve  (under  my 
circumstances)  any  further  remarks. 

"  You  will  be  pleased  to  present  my  respects  to  Mr.  Bas- 
sett,  and  my  acquaintance  in  Congress. 

"  I  am,  with  much  respect  and  consideration,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servant, 

"  GUNNING  BEDFORD,  Junior/11 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

The  "common  and  statute  law"  referred  to  in  the  pro 
posed  act  for  establishing  the  courts  of  the  United  States 
were  those  of  England,  which  were,  more  or  less,  those  of 
her  North  American  colonists,  who  brought  with  them  to 
their  new  abodes  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  English 
men  and  their  laws  potentially,  but  actually  when  there 
were  subjects  for  them  to  act  upon ;  but  these  laws  were 
variously  modified  and  altered  in' the  several  colonies.  The 
common  law,  amended  and  ameliorated  by  statutes,  is  the 
general  basis  of  the  jurisprudence  of  all  the  States,  Lou 
isiana'  excepted,  where  the  civil  law  is  that  basis ;  and  such 
parts  of  it  are  now  in  force  as  were  adapted  to  the  colonies, 

*  For  a  notice  of  Gunning  Bedford,  see  Appendix  Gr. 


I 

484  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  have  been,  since  their  settlement,  recognized,  used,  and 
retained.  Soon  after  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
went  into  operation,  the  question  was  raised  whether  or  not 
the  common  law  of  England  was  adopted  in  the  United 
States  by  its  establishment,  or  is  the  law  of  these  States  in 
their  national  capacity.  It  was,  with  reason,  contended 
"  that  the  framers  of  the  Constitution,  upon  which  so  much 
labor  was  expended  to  enumerate  and  define  the  powers 
therein  granted,  could  never  have  intended  to  introduce  in 
mass,  indirectly  and  by  forced  construction  of  a  few 
phr.ases,  the  vast  and  multifarious  jurisdiction  of  the  com 
mon  law,  and  thus  sap  its  foundation  as  a  system  of  speci 
fied  and  limited  powers,"  giving  to  the  Federal  courts 
unlimited  jurisdiction,  and  to  the  other  departments  of  the 
United  States  government  unlimited  powers.  The  true 
doctrine  seems  to  be  this :  "  The  maxims  and  rules  of  pro 
ceeding  of  the  common  law  are  to  be  adhered  to  wherever 
the  written  law  is  silent  in  cases  the  cognizance  whereof  is 
vested  in  the  United  States  courts,  or  of  a  similar  or  anal 
ogous  nature,  so  that  it  may  govern  and  direct  the  course 
of  proceeding  in  such  cases,  but  cannot  give  jurisdiction  in 
any  case  where  it  is  not  expressly  given  by  the  Constitu 
tion  ;"  and  so  it  may  regulate  (the  United  States  statute 
law  being  silent)  the  exercise  of  the  powers  conferred  by 
the  Constitution  upon  the  other  departments  of  the  govern 
ment,  but  can  confer  none  upon  them.* 

"In  the  debate  in  the  United  States  Senate,  July  15th, 
1789,  upon  the  President's  constitutional  power  of  remov 
ing  from  office,  Mr.  Head  said : 

" '  The  President  is  to  take  care  that  the  laws  be  faith 
fully  executed ;  he  is  responsible.  How  can  he  do  his  duty, 
or  be  responsible,  if  he  cannot  remove  his  instruments  ? 
It  is  not  an  unequal  sharing  of  the  power  of  appointment 
between  the  President  and  the  Senate :  the  Senate  is  only 
a  check  to  prevent  impositions  on  the  President.  The 
minister,  a  deputy  or  agent  of  the  Executive.  Difficult  to 
bring  a  great  character  to  trial  and  punishment.' 

"  The  yeas  and  nays  were  :  yeas, — Bassett,  Carroll,  Dai- 
ton,  Elmer,  Henry,  Morris,  Patterson,  Read,  Strong — 9 ; 

*  Tucker's  Blackstone,  Part  i.  Appendix,  note  E;  Encyclopaedia 
Americana,  vol.  iii.  p.  394. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  485 

nays, — Few,  Grayson,  Green,  Johnson,  Izard,  Langdon, 
Lee,  Maclay,  Wingate — 9. 

"  The  Vice-Presidont  gave  his  vote  for  the  power  of  re 
moval  being  in  the  President,  and  so  decided  the  question, 
and  the  country  acquiesced  in  his  decision  ;  and  this  power 
has  been  exercised  ever  since,  though  this  question  has 
subsequently  been  agitated  at -intervals,  and  is  liable  to  be 
so  whenever  a  majority  of  the  Senate  may  be  in  opposition 
to  a  new  President  coming  in  upon  a  revolution  in  public 
opinion." — Writings  of  John  Adams,  vol.  ii.  pp.  407—409  ; 
Bentons  Abridgment  of  the  Debates  in  Congress,  pp.  86—92, 
and  102-109. 

John  Penn  in  the  following  letter  confides  to  Mr.  Read 
the  management  of  the  affairs  of  his  family  in  Delaware : 

"  LONDON,  UPPER  WIMPOLE  STREET,  July  22d,  1789. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  of  troubling  you  with  a 
letter  to  beg  your  friendly  assistance  in  the  management  of 
our  affairs  in  the  State  of  Delaware,  as  we  are  desirous  of 
bringing  all  our  business  in  America  to  a  settlement,  and 
should  be  extremely  obliged  to  you  if  you  will  be  kind 
enough  to  advise  any  of  our  friends,  whom  we  shall  desire 
to  apply  to  you,  what  will  be  the  proper  method  of  pro 
ceeding.  We  are  in  expectation  of  receiving  some  compen 
sation  from  government,  but  I  am  afraid,  from  the  great 
deductions  that  will  be  made  upon  it,  it  will  not  be  very 
considerable. 

"  I  hope  you  go  on  prosperously  in  the  establishment  of 
your  new  government,  and  that  you  may  soon  get  clear  of 
the  clouds  that  were  hanging  over  you  when  I  left  America; 
and  though  my  own  interest  would  naturally  lead  me  to 
this  wish,  I  assure  you  I  should  be  happy  to  hear  of  this 
event  for  the  sake  of  America  in  general,  and  particularly 
for  the  few  friends  I  have  left  there. 

"  I  hope  you  will  excuse  the  trouble  I  give  you,  which 
proceeds  from  the  confidence  I  have  in  your  judgment,  and 
from  our  long  acquaintance  I  presume  upon  your  friendly 
disposition  towards  me. 

"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  sincere  friend  and  obedient  servant, 

"JOHN  PENN."* 

*  The  eldest  son  of  Thomas  Penn,  son  of  William  Penn  and  Hannah 
Callowhill,  and  who  was  proprietor  of  two-thirds  of  Pennsylvania.  He 


486  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

There  was  much  competition  for  the  offices  to  be  estab 
lished  under  the  new  general  government.  Applications 
for  offices  had  even  been  made  to  General  Washington  be 
fore  his  inauguration  and  while  yet  at  Mount  Vernon. 
With  that  nice  sense  of  propriety  which  he  manifested  in 
every  situation,  he  declined  the  promise  of  appointment  to 
all  the  applicants,  having  "  determined  to  go  into  office 
free  from  all  engagements,  of  every  nature  whatsoever." — 
MarsliaWs  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  pp.  151,  152. 

Edward  Shippen,  so  strongly  recommended  for  the  office 
of  District  Judge  in  Pennsylvania  in  the  letters  which  fol 
low,  was  born  in  Philadelphia,  February  6th,  1729.  His 
great-grandfather,  'Edward  Shippen,  came  to  Boston,  from 
England,  in  1675,  and  was  the  first  mayor  of  Philadelphia. 
The  son  of  this  gentleman,  Joseph,  was  the  father  of  Ed 
ward  Shippen,  originally  a  merchant,  but  elevated  to  the 
bench  before  and  after  our  Revolution,  in  which  he  took  an 
r.ctive  part.  His  son,  Edward  Shippen,  completed  his  edu 
cation  for  the  bar  at  the  Middle  Temple,  London,  and  was 
admitted  to  practice  in  the  Pennsylvania  courts  in  Septem 
ber,  1750.  His  legal  knowledge  was  extensive.  He  was 
appointed  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Pennsylvania  in 
1791,  and  Chief  Justice  in  1799,  at  the  age  of  seventy,  and 
was  a  safe  and  excellent  judge.  "He  was  an  agreeable, 
prepossessing  gentleman,  of  dignified  personal  appearance, 
and  beloved  and  venerated  by  all  who  knew  him."  In  De 
cember,  1805,  feeling  the  infirmities  of  age,  he  resigned,  to 
secure  a  brief  space  to  prepare  for  death,  which  he  met,  April, 
1806,  with  the  faith  and  submission  of  a  Christian,  full  of 
years,  honored  and  lamented.* 

was  in  Philadelphia  after  the  Revolution,  He  had  a  particular  nervous 
affection  about  him,  such  as  was  sometimes  distressing  to  himself  and 
others,  and  was,  besides,  near-sighted.  He  built  the  place  called  "  Soli 
tude,"  over  Schuylkill.  He  was  still  alive  in  1830,  and  wrote  occasionally 
to  Watson,  author  of  "Annals  of  Philadelphia,"  on  subjects  relating  to 
that  city,  and  had  then  in  his  possession  a  great  collection  of  his  grand 
father's  papers,  in  fine  preservation  and  regularly  filed  and  endorsed, 
which  it  was  expected  would  some  day  be  published  to  elucidate 
family  and  civil  history.  John  Penn  was  the  wealthy  proprietor  and 
resident  of  Stoke  Poges  Park,  in  the  country,  and  of  the  mansion- 
house  of  Spring  Garden,  in  London. —  Watson's  Annals  of  Philadel 
phia,  p.  115. 

*  Hall's  Journal  of  Jurisprudence,  vol.  i.  p.  67  ;    The  Foruni,  by 
David  Paul  Brown,  vol.  i.  pp.  324-326. 


OF  GEOEGE   EEAD.  487 

PHILADELPHIA,  September  22d,  1789. 

DEAR  SIR, — Although  I  have  not  had  the  pleasure  of 
corresponding  with  you  since  you  have  taken  your  seat  at 
New  York,  yet  I  cannot  deny  myself  the  satisfaction  of 
communicating  my  sentiments  to  you  on  a  subject  in  which 
I  feel  myself  interested.  That  department  of  government 
in  which  you  take  your  station  as  a  Senator  will,  I  hope, 
in  your  opinion,  render  the  matter  not  altogether  foreign  to 
your  consideration  ;  if  it  should  [be  so],  I  must  rely  on  the 
acquaintance  I  have  heretofore  enjoyed  with  you  as  my 
apology. 

"  For  some  time  past,  sir,  the  appointment  of  a  district 
judge  for  Pennsylvania  has  excited  the  attention  and  in 
quiries  of  the  greater  part  of  the  lawyers  here.  They  have 
observed  that  its  complicated  duties  require  an  acquaintance 
with  the  common  law  as  well  as  the  civil  and  maritime. 
As  they  wish,  for  their  own  ease,  happiness,  and  interest, 
that  the  seat  may  be  filled  with  dignity,  they  have  been 
apprehensive  lest  the  office  should  be  given  to  the  gentle 
man  who  formerly  held  the  appointment  of  Judge  of  the 
Admiralty  here,  upon  the  principle  of  not  taking  away  office 
from  the  former  possessor.  Their  apprehensions  arise  not 
from  any  personal  dislike  to  Mr.  Hopkinson,  but  from  a 
conviction  that  Mr.  Edward  Shippen  possesses  far  superior 
knowledge  and  capacity  for  the  station.  They  are  induced 
to  believe  the  appointment  would  not  be  rejected  by  him, 
though  he  has  too  much  modesty  and  merit  to  push  himself 
forward  in  order  to  obtain  it.  Upon  these  grounds,  Mr. 
Lewis,  Mr.  Tilghman,  the  Attorney-General,  Mr.  Kawl,  and 
many  other  of  the  gentlemen  [of  the  bar]  have  formed 
strong  wishes  that  the  office  should  be  conferred  on  Mr. 
Shippen.  I  very  cheerfully  confess  myself  one  of  this  num 
ber,  from  the  knowledge  and  experience  I  have  had  of  both 
the  gentlemen  [thought  of  for  this  office].  I  mention  these 
circumstances  in  confidence,  though  I  am  not  unwilling 
openly  to  avow  them,  if  it  should  be  necessary. 

"  You  will  pay,  sir,  such  attention  to  this  communication 
as  you  may  think  most  proper.  I  am  prevented  from  say 
ing  more  by  the  necessity  I  am  under  of  going  out  with 
Mr.  Matthew  Pearce  and  Mr.  John  Read,  your  son,  who 
are  now  waiting. 


488  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  I  hope  you  will  believe  me  to  be,  with  all  due  considera 
tion,  sir,  your  most  obedient  servant, 

"  MOSES  LEVY.* 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

"  PHILADELPHIA,  September  21st,  1789. 

"DEAR  SIR, — I  cannot  refrain  from  again  mentioning  to 
you  Mr.  Shippen  as  a  gentleman  in  every  respect  qualified 
for  the  seat  of  district  judge  of  this  State.  It  is  generally 
supposed  that  another  gentleman  stands  for  this  appoint 
ment.  There  is  no  sort  of  comparison  between  the  two. 
This  is  not  my  opinion  alone,  but  that  of  every  lawyer  I 
have  conversed  with  on  the  subject.  Mr.  Shippen  has  not 
applied  for  the  office,  but  will  accept  it  with  pleasure,  and 
is  beyond  all  doubt  much  better  qualified  for  it  than  any 
other  man  in  this  State  who  will  accept  it.  To  you  I  may 
in  confidence  say  that  the  other  (F.  H.)  is  not  competent. 
I  say  this  not  from  my  own  experience,  but  from  the  voice 
of  the  bar,  without  exception,  that  I  know  of,  unless  Mr. 
Wilson  may  be  of  another  opinion,  which  I  rather  suspect 
to  be  the  case,  from  their  intimacy  and  friendship.  I 
assure  you  most  solemnly  1  have  no  other  motive  than  a 
desire  that  so  important  a  station  should  be  properly  filled, 

and  most  sincerely  pity  the  family  of  Mr.  H ,  nor  have 

I  entertained  any  the  least  disgust  against  him  on  any  score 
whatever. 

"  If  you  see  no  impropriety  in  communicating  my  senti 
ments  to  the  President,  be  pleased  to  make  them  known  to 
him. 

"This  matter  did  not  originate  with  Mr.  Shippen ;  it  pro 
ceeds  from  some  gentlemen  of  this  bar. 

"  I  am  not  upon  such  a  footing  with  any  of  the  delegates 
from  Pennsylvania  as  to  justify  an  application  to  them. 
This  you  will  consider  as  also  made  to  Mr.  Bassett. 
"  I  am,  dear  sir,  your  very  affectionate  friend, 

"  EDWARD  TILGHMAN.-)- 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  HEAD,  Esquire." 


*  An  eminent  lawyer  of  Philadelphia.     See  Appendix  H. 
f  Mr.  Tilghman  adds  to  what  he  urged,  as  above,  in  a  letter  to  Mr. 
Read,  written  23d  September,  "that  if  the  sense  of  the  bar  should  be 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  489 

Richard  Peters  received  the  appointment  of  United  States 
District  Judge  for  Pennsylvania. 

It  appears  by  the  following  letter  of  Mr.  Dickinson — the 
last  of  Mr.  Read's  correspondence  for  1789  which  has  been 
preserved — that  he  was  suffering  inconvenience,  though  in 
no  peril  of  eventual  loss,  from  his  having  lent  his  credit  to 
sustain  that  of  Delaware,  in  1782.  This  letter  has  a  char 
acteristic  of  Mr.  Dickinson's  letters  whenever  the  subject 
was  of  interest  or  importance — earnestness  : 

"WILMINGTON,  October  31st,  1789. 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — The  bond  which  I  gave  in  June, 
1782,  to  Robert  Morris,  Esquire,  to  satisfy  him  for  one, 
thousand  pounds  borrowed  for  the  use  of  this  State,  has 
been  lately  assigned  by  him  to  Edward  Tilghman,  and 
there  remains  a  balance  of  two  hundred  and  eighty-three 
pounds  and  three  pence,  principal,  still  due,  with  interest  on 
that  from  the  19th  of  July,  1787. 

"The  former  treasurers,  Drs.  Til  ton  and  Clayton,  have, 
by  payments,  in  pursuance  of  the  resolution  of  the  Legis 
lature  on  the  21st  of  June,  1783,  so  far  reduced  the  debt. 

"  The  assignee  positively  insists  upon  my  immediate  pay 
ment  of  the  residue,  and  threatens  to  sue  if  his  demand  is 
not  directly  complied  with. 

"Thus  I  find  myself  unexpectedly  distressed  and  embar 
rassed. 

"I  have  written  to  the  present  treasurer,  and  he  has 
assured  me,  by  the  auditor-general,  that  this  debt  shall  be 
the  first  paid  out  of  the  taxes  now  collecting,  after  paying 
one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  to  the  Chief  Justice.  But 
the  affair  is  of  so  much  consequence  to  me  that  I  wish  to 
strengthen,  by  all  possible  means,  .the  treasurer  in  his 
declaration  of  speedily  doing  me  justice. 

"  I  therefore  desire  to  be  favored  with  a  letter  to  the 
president  and  another  to  the  treasurer,  expressing  thy 
sentiments  and  those  of  the  Legislature  on  this  subject, 
since  it  was  first  laid  before  them,  and  urging  the  most 
early  measures  for  extricating  me  from  my  very  disagree- 

requested,  it  would  certainly  be  warmly  in  favor  of  Mr.  Shippen,  and 
would  have  been  sent  to  the  President,  but  for  doubts  of  the  propriety 
of  so  doing." 

32 


490  LIFE   AND    GOEEESPONDENCE 

able  situation.  The  late  presidents,  Van  Dyke  and  Collins, 
were  solicitous  that  this  debt  should  have  been  long  since 
paid. 

"  I  shall  be  exceedingly  obliged  if  this  affair  can  be  so 
represented  that  I  may  be  soon  relieved  from  an  uneasiness, 
caused  by  the  purest  zeal  for  the  welfare  of  the  State. 

"  I  propose  to  set  off  next  Wednesday  morning  for  Kent, 
I  can  then  call  for  an  answer,  or  the  bearer  may  now  wait. 
I  should  prefer  the  first  way  of  receiving  it. 

"  I  am  thy  ever  affectionate  friend, 

"Joiusr  DICKINSON. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

Mr.  Read  enjoyed  a  brief  interval  between  the  termina 
tion  of  the  first  session  of  the  first  Congress  of  the  United 
States,  September  29th,  1789,  and  the  commencement  of 
the  second  session  of  that  body,  which  was  devoted  to  his 
family  and  his  professional  and  private  business,  cheered 
by  the  general  approval  of  the  late  proceedings  of  the 
national  legislature,  the  principal  of  which  were  the  acts 
providing  revenue,  constituting  the  Federal  judiciary, 
organizing  the  executive  departments,  and  defining  crimes 
cognizable  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and 
their  punishment,  and  the  adopting  amendments  to  the 
Constitution,  which  were  submitted  to  the  States.  These 
labors  having  been  most  fitly  terminated  by  their  recom 
mendation  of  the  observance  of  a  day  of  thanksgiving  to 
Almighty  God  for  his  many  signal  and  unmerited  favors, 
and  especially  for  the  opportunity  vouchsafed  to  establish, 
in  peace,  a  government  which  would,  with  his  blessing, 
insure  safety,  liberty,  strength,  and  happiness  to  their 
countrymen,  and  while  it  won  their  love,  receive,  as  it 
deserved,  the  admiration  of  the  nations  among  which  the 
United  States  had  taken  their  place.* 

*  Mr.  Read  participated  considerably  in  the  business  of  the  commit 
tees  of  the  Senate  in  1789,  as  appears  by  the  following  entries  on  one 
page  of  the  Journal  of  that  body  in  that  year: 

"Monday,  September  28th,  1789.— Mr.  Read,  on  behalf  of  the  com 
mittee  appointed  on  the  bill  entitled  '  An  act  to  explain  and  amend  an 
act  for  registering  and  clearing  of  vessels,  regulating  the  coasting  trade, 
and  other  purposes,' reported  an  amendment. 

"Mr.  Read,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  appointed  on  the  bill  entitled 
'An  act  amending  part  of  an  act  to  regulate  the  collection  of  duties  on 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  491 

tonnage  and  on  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise  imported  into  the  United 
States,'  reported  non-concurrence,  and  the  bill  did  not  pass. 

"  Mr.  Read,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  appointed  upon  the  bill  entitled 
'An  act  to  recognize  and  adapt  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
the  establishment  of  the  troops  raised  under  the  United  States  in  Con 
gress  assembled,  and  for  other  purposes,'  reported  amendments  [which 
were  adopted], 

"  Mr.  Read,  on  behalf  of  the  committee  appointed  on  the  bill  entitled 
'An  act  for  the  payment  of  invalid  pensioners,' reported  concurrence." 

Journal  of  the  "First  Session  of  the  United  States  Senate,  vol.  i. 

pp.  58,  91. 

The  labors  of  committees,  not  having  been  performed  under  the  eyes 
of  the  public,  have  seldom  been  appreciated  as  they  deserved,  though  to 
their  unseen  and  inglorious  toils  belonged  often  the  whole  merit  of  the 
best  legislative  acts.  Men  look  admiringly  upon  the  grand  or  graceful 
fa9ade  of  a  stately  building,  with  its  swelling  dome  or  tapering  spire, 
without  a  thought  of  its  in  visible  foundation,  constructed  perhaps  with 
much  architectural  skill,  or  laid  at  least  with  great  cost  of  time,  labor, 
and  money,  and  essential  to  its  existence. 

Mr.  Read  was  upon  other  committees  on  important  subjects, — for 
example,  on  the  one  appointed  to  report  the  bill  "  defining  crimes  cog 
nizable  under  the  authority  of  the  United  States,  and  their  punishment" 
—Journal  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  p.  25. 


492  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


APPENDICES    TO   CHAPTER   VI. 


1787. — An  act  appointing  deputies  from  this  State  [Delaware]  to  the 
convention  proposed  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  for  the  pur 
pose  of  revising  the  Federal  Constitution. 

PREAMBLE.  Whereas,  The  General  Assembly  of  this  State  are  fully 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  revising  the  Federal  Constitution,  and 
adding  thereto  such  further  provisions  as  may  render  the  same  more 
adequate  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union;  and  whereas,  the  Legislature 
of  Virginia  have  already  passed  an  act  of  that  Commonwealth  appoint 
ing  and  authorizing  certain  commissioners  to  meet  at  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia  in  May  next, — a  convention  of  commissioners  or  deputies  from 
the  different  States, — and  this  State  being  willing  and  desirous  of  co 
operating  with  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  and  the  other  States  in 
the  Confederation,  in  so  useful  a  design ; 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  therefore  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
Delaware,  That  George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett,  and  Jacob  Broom,  Esquires,  are  hereby  appointed 
deputies  from  this  State  to  meet  in  the  convention  of  the  deputies  of 
other  States  to  be  held  at  the  city  of  Philadelphia  on  the  2d  day  of  May 
next.  And  the  said  George  Read,  Gunning  Bedford,  John  Dickinson, 
Richard  Bassett,  and  Jacob  Broom,  or  any  three  of  them,  are  hereby 
constituted  and  appointed  deputies  from  this  State  to  meet  such  depu 
ties  as  may  be  appointed  and  authorized  by  the  other  States  to  as 
semble  in  the  said  convention  at  the  city  aforesaid,  and  to  join  with 
them  in  deliberating  and  discussing  such  alterations  and  further  pro 
visions  as  may  be  necessary  to  render  the  Federal  Constitution  adequate 
to  the  exigencies  of  the  Union,  and  in  reporting  such  act  or  acts  for  that 
purpose  to  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  as,  when  agreed 
to  by  them  and  duly  confirmed  by  the  several  States,  may  effectually 
provide  for  the  same;  so  always,  and  provided  that  such  alterations 
or  further  provisions,  or  any  of  them,  do  not  extend  to  that  part  of  the 
fifth  article  of  the  Confederation  of  the  said  States,  finally  ratified  on 
the  1st  day  of  March,  in  the  year  1781,  which  declares  that  in  deter 
mining  questions  in  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  each 
State  shall  have  one  vote. 

SECTION  2.  And  be  it  enacted,  That  in  case  any  of  the  deputies  hereby 
nominated  shall  happen  to  die,  or  to  resign  his  or  their  appointment,  the 
President  or  Commander-in-Chief,  with  the  advice  of  the  Privy  Council, 
in  the  recess  of  the  General  Assembly,  is  hereby  authorized  to  supply 
such  vacancies. 

Passed  February  3d,  1787. — Laws  of  Delaware,  vol.  ii.  chap,  cxlviii. 
B.,  pp.  892,  893. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  493 


IB. 
NOTICE  OF  NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE. 

NICHOLAS  VAN  DYKE,  a  distinguished  lawyer  of  Delaware,  was  born 
at  New  Castle,  Delaware,  8th  December,  17 TO,  and  died  May  21st, 
1826,  in  the  fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age.  In  the  catalogue  of  the  gradu 
ates  of  Nassau  Hall,  I  find  his  name  in  the  class  which  graduated  in 
1788,  in  which  appears  that  of  Smith  Thomson,  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
and  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States. 

Mr.  Van  Dyke  studied  law  in  the  office  of  his  brother-in-law,  Chief 
Justice  Johns,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1791,  and  soon  obtained  a 
large  practice. 

If  surpassed  by  some  of  his  contemporaries  (inferiors  to  few,  if  any, 
members  of  the  bar  throughout,  the  Union)  in  profound  knowledge  of 
the  law,  and  in  dialectical  power,  he  was  a  sound  lawyer,  and  superior 
to  them  all  as  a  fluent,  graceful,  and  successful  advocate,  and  in  the 
skilful  management  of  his  cases. 

He  never  lost  his  predilection  for  general  literature,  and  always  found 
time  for  miscellaneous  reading.  He  was  remarkable  for  the  ease  and 
elegance  of  his  manners  and  conversational  powers,  and  for  his  taste  in 
architecture,  and  fondness  for  indulging  it,  having  erected  two  large 
and  fine  houses  in  New  Castle,  and  two  in  its  vicinity, — his  ample  for 
tune  enabling  him  to  gratify  this  taste,  at  once  elegant  and  useful, 
without  inconvenience. 

In  the  latter  period  of  his  life  he  was  a  ruling  elder  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  and  took  an  active  part  in  its  affairs,  thus  superadding 
to  his  pure  moral  character  the  crowning  ornament  of  piety. 

He  was  elected  to  the  Legislature  of  Delaware  in  1799  ;  to  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives  in  1809  ;  to  the  Senate  of 
Delaware  in  1815,  and  to  the  United  States  Senate  in  1817  ;  and,  hav 
ing  been  re-elected,  was,  when  he  died,  a  member  of  that  body, — in 
which  he  not* only  maintained  but  increased  the  high  reputation  of  the 
representatives  of  Delaware  for  statesmanship  and  ability  as  debaters 
in  the  national  legislature.  He  was  of  the  Federal  party. 


01. 
NOTICE   OF  EDMUND   RANDOLPH. 

EDMUND  RANDOLPH,  eminent  as  a  lawyer  and  a  statesman,  filled 
offices  of  the  highest  responsibility.  At  the  head  of  his  profession,  he 
was  for  several  years  Attorney-General  of  Virginia  and  then  Governor 
of  that  State,  and,  still  in  this  office,  was  elected  a  member  of  the  con 
vention  which  formed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  opened 


494  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  business  confided  to  that  assembly  by  submitting  the  project  of  a 
new  constitution,  known  as  the  Virginia  plan,  and  took  a  prominent  part 
in  its  proceedings.  Upon  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  service  as  chief 
magistrate  of  Virginia  he  was  elected  a  member  of  her  Legislature, 
and  from  thence  appointed  by  Washington  Attorney-General  of  the 
United  States.  In  1793  he  was  transferred  to  the  higher  post  of  Sec 
retary  of  State,  upon  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Jefferson.  In  1795  Mr. 
Randolph  was  so  far  misled  by  party  feeling  and  his  predilection  for 
France  as  to  make  communications  to  the  French  minister  which  the 
President  considered  so  reprehensible  that  they  called  forth  his  strong 
disapprobation,  on  which  Mr.  Randolph  resigned,  and  attempted  to 
justify  this  abuse  of  his  official  position  by  representing  himself  as 
sacrificed  to  England  and  the  aristocrats  who  espoused  her  cause,  for 
his  devotion  to  liberty  and  the  French  republic.  He  may  not  have 
made  the  overtures  to  Fauchet  from  which  it  was  inferred  that  he 
was  willing,  with  some  of  his  friends,  to  be  in  the  pay  of  France ; 
but  his  needy  circumstances,  and  his  retiring  from  office  a  defaulter, 
gave  countenance  to  the  suspicion  the  intercepted  despatch  of  the  French 
envoy  excited,  and  at  all  events  he  cannot  be  acquitted  of  tortuous 
conduct,  and  even  intrigue  with  the  Democratic  leaders  and  French 
minister,  inconsistent  with  his  official  position  and  consequent  relations 
to  the  administration. 

John,  the  father  of  Edmund  Randolph,  held  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General  of  Virginia,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the  American  Revo 
lution  sided  with  the  royalists  and  withdrew  with  his  family  to  Eng 
land.  His  brother,  Peyton,  declared  for  the  Whigs,  succeeded  him  as 
Attorney-General,  and  was  eminent  for  his  ability,  zeal,  and  success  in 
offices,  State  and  national,  to  which  his  fellow-citizens  elected  him. 
Being  childless,  he  adopted  Edmund  as  his  son. 

Edmund  entered  the  college  of  Williamsburg  soon  after  Jefferson 
graduated  there ;  and  that  eminent  man  being,  with  several  of  his 
fellow-students  afterwards  distinguished,  infected  with  the  infidelity 
imported  from  France,  they  unhappily  left  the  taint  of  this  poison  behind 
them.  Edmund  was  for  a  time  led  astray  by  the  sophistries  and  arts 
of  the  infidels  of  his  college ;  but,  escaping  from  their  toils,  turned  his 
back  upon  their  theories,  unfounded  in  truth  as  barren  of  utility,  and 
upon  their  dreary  prospects,  and  took  honorable  position  among  the 
champions  of  religion  and  the  church. 

He  was  one  of  the  eminent  lawyers  who  ably  maintained,  but  unsuc 
cessfully,  that  the  law  by  which  the  churches  in  Virginia  were  robbed 
of  their  glebes  was  unconstitutional. 

Towards  the  close  of  his  life  his  residence  was  with  his  son-in-law, 
Bennett  Taylor,  in  Frederick  County.  Bishop  Meade,  during  this 
residence,  had  conversation  with  him,  and  states  that  he  was  deeply 
interested  in  religious  subjects. 

He  died  at  Carter  Hall,  the  seat  of  Colonel  Nathaniel  Burwell,  and 
was  interred  in  the  ancient  grave-yard  of  Frederick  parish. — Mar  shall1  s 
Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  note  17,  p.  30,  pp.  214,  630;  HildretWs 
History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp.  516,  556,  561 ;  Old  Churches 
and  Families  in  Virginia,  vol.  ii.  pp.  292,  293. 

William  Wirt,  who  practised  with  Edmund  Randolph  in  courts  of 
Virginia,  and  had  ample  opportunity  for  studying  his  character,  intel- 


I 
OF  GEOEGE   READ.  495 

lectual  and  moral,  draws  a  portrait  of  this  eminent  citizen  (of  the  out 
ward  and  inner  man)  in  his  "Letters  of  a  British  Spy"  (A.D.  1803), 
Letter  7,  a  work  so  popular  that  ten  editions  of  it,  perhaps  more,  have 
been  published  : 

"  Mr.  Edmund  Randolph  has  great  personal  advantages.  A  figure 
large  and  portly;  his  features  uncommonly  fine;  his  dark  eyes  and  his 
whole  countenance  lighted  up  with  an  expression  of  the  most  concili 
ating  sensibility ;  his  attitudes  dignified  and  commanding;  his  gesture 
easy  and  graceful ;  his  voice  perfect  harmony;  and  his  whole  manner 
that  of  an  accomplished  and  engaging  gentleman.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  expression  of  his  countenance  does  no  more  than  justice 
to  his  heart.  If  I  am  correctly  informed,  his  feelings  are  exquisite,  and 
the  proofs  of  his  benevolence  are  various  and  clear,  beyond  the  possi 
bility  of  doubt.  He  has  long  maintained  a  most  respectable  rank  in 
his  profession,  and  is  esteemed  by  the  people  a  great  lawyer  and  an 
eloquent  speaker. 

"  To  me  it  seems  his  mind  is  turned  rather  for  ornament  than  for 
severe  use.  His  speeches  deserve,  I  think,  the  censure  which  Lord 
Verulam  pronounces  on  the  writers  posterior  to  the  reformation  of  the 
church.  '  Luther,'  says  he,  '  standing  alone  against  the  Church  of 
Rome,  found  it  necessary  to  awake  all  antiquity  in  his  behalf;  this  in 
troduced  the  study  of  the  dead  languages  and  a  taste  for  the  Ciceronian 
manner,  and  hence  the  prevailing  error  of  hunting  more  after  words 
than  matter,  and  more  after  the  choiceness  of  the  phrase  and  the  round 
and  clean  composition  of  the  sentence,  and  the  sweet  falling  of  the 
clauses,  and  the  varying  and  illustration  of  their  works  with  tropes  and 
figures,  than  after  the  weight  of  matter,  worth  of  subject,  soundness  of 
argument,  life  of  invention,  or  depth  of  judgment,'  Mr.  Randolph's 
temper  and  habits  lead  him  to  the  stately  and  swelling  manner  of  Bol- 
ingbroke  ;  but,  either  from  want  of  promptitude  and  richness  of  concep 
tion  or  too  sedulous  hunting  after  words,  he  does  not  maintain  that 
manner  smoothly  and  happily;  on  the  contrary,  the  spirits  of  his 
hearers,  after  having  been  awakened  and  put  in  pleasant  motion,  have 
their  tide  checked  by  the  hesitation  and  perplexity  of  the  speaker. 

"All  the  arguments  I  have  ever  heard  from  him  are  defective  in  the 
important  and  most  material  character, — the  lucidus  ordo.  I  suspect 
that  in  the  preparatory  arrangement  of  his  subject  he  gains  his  ground 
by  slow  and  laborious  gradations,  and  that  his  difficulties  are  numerous 
and  embarrassing.  Hence  it  is,  perhaps,  that  his  points  are  generally 
too  multifarious,  and  although  among  the  rest  he  exhibits  the  strong 
point,  its  appearance  is  too  often  like  that  of  Issachar,  bowed  down 
between  two  burdens.  I  incline  to  believe  that  if  there  be  a  blemish  in 
his  mind,  it  is  the  want  of  a  strong  and  masculine  judgment,  manifested 
in  his  selection  of  cases  seized  by  his  adversaries  and  turned  against  him. 
He  is  certainlv  a  man  of  close  and  elaborate  research." 


* 

496  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

02. 
NOTICE   OF   CHARLES   THOMSON. 

CHARLES  THOMSON  was  born  in  Ireland,  November,  1129,  of  respect 
able  parents.  About  1740,  his  father,  with  himself  and  three  older 
brothers,  embarked  for  America.  His  father,  having  been  sick  during 
the  voyage,  died,  off  the  capes  of  Delaware.  "  I  stood  by  my  expiring 
father,"  said  Charles  Thomson  to  John  P.  Watson,  years  after,  " closed 
his  eyes,  and  performed  other  duties  of  filial  piety  to  him."  Dying  so 
near  land,  his  corpse  might  have  been  kept  for  interment  on  shore,  but 
the  captain  of  the  ship  cast  it  into  the  sea  to  save  expense,  which  would 
diminish  the  property  the  parent  left  behind  him  and  which  he  designed 
in  part  to  appropriate,  and  did  embezzle,  as  Charles  and  his  orphan 
brothers  believed.  They  were  landed  at  New  Castle,  Delaware,  with 
little  property,  which  the  unprincipled  captain  said  was  all  their  father 
had,  thus  despoiling  children  who,  orphans,  friendless,  and  strangers  in 
a  strange  land,  could  not  assert  their  rights.  Charles  was  placed,  when 
he  landed  at  New  Castle,  in  the  family  of  a  blacksmith,  who  was  so 
much  pleased  with  his  intelligence,  courtesy,  and  energy  that  he  de 
signed  to  have  him  bound  to  him  as  an  apprentice.  Hearing  him,  in 
conversation  with  his  wife  at  night,  say  he  should  carry  this  intention 
into  effect  the  next  day,  Charles,  whose  antecedent  state  had  been  far 
superior  to  that  which  was  designed  for  him,  left  the  blacksmith's  house 
at  the  dawn  of  that  day.  He  took  the  road  to  Wilmington,  a  boy,  ten 
years  old,  trudging  manfully  along,  with  his  bundle  of  scanty  clothes. 
An  inquisitive  lady,  as  the  sun  arose,  overtook  him,  and,  interested  by 
his  manly  bearing,  asked  his  name,  where  he  was  travelling,  and  why. 
Even  the  fear  of  being  taken  back  to  the  blacksmith  did  not  overbear 
his  love  and  habit  of  truthfulness.  He  recounted  his  brief  history,  and 
his  aspiration  for  a  liberal  education  which  might  fit  him  for  some  occu 
pation  more  congenial  to  his  feelings  than  the  trade  from  which  he  was 
escaping.  This  kind  woman  was  at  once  interested  for  the  young  trav 
eller,  and  obtained  his  admission  into  the  school  taught  by  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Allison,  at  Thunder-Hill,  in  the  province  of  Maryland,  and  of 
high  repute.  Charles's  eldest  brother  generously  provided  him,  as  far  as 
he  could,  with  money;  and  his  gratitude  was  manifested,  at  a  later 
period  of  his  life,  by  the  gift  of  a  farm  in  Delaware  to  this  benefactor. 
One  of  Mr.  Thomson's  fellow-students  at  this  seminary  was  George 
Read.  They  soon  became  warm  friends,  and  so  continued  through  the 
trying  scenes  of  the  Revolution,  in  which  they  were  prominent  actors, 
and  until  the  death  of  Mr.  Read,  in  1798.  Classical  books,  as  neces 
sary  to  learners  as  tools  to  mechanics,  were  so  scarce  that  Dr.  Allison's 
pupils  had  but  one  lexicon  among  them.  Charles  Thomson  told  Watson 
"that,  having  accidentally  got  hold  of  some  loose  leaves  of  the  'Spec 
tator,'  by  which  he  learned  its  name  and  style,  he  so  longed  to  possess 
the  whole  work  that  he  walked  all  night  to  Philadelphia  to  buy  it,  did 
so,  and  walked  back  in  time  not  to  miss  his  lessons,  in  his  class;  and 
that,  after  he  was  initiated  in  Greek,  he  walked  to  Arnboy,  and  to  his 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  497 

home  again,  to  visit  a  British  officer  there,  a  stranger  to  him,  because  he 
was  reported  to  be  a  fine  Greek  scholar."  His  first  passion  for  Greek  litera 
ture,  he  told  Watson,  was  the  result  of  an  apparently  accidental  occur 
rence.  Passing  an  auction  store  in  Philadelphia,  he  heard  the  offer  of  an 
"outlandish  book"  for  sale,  which  he  bought  for  a  trifle.  It  was  part  of 
the  Greek  Septuagint.  When  he  mastered  it  enough  to  understand  it, 
he  was  very  anxious  to  obtain  the  whole,  but  could  get  no  copy  of  the 
coveted  book  until,  strange  to  tell,  in  the  interval  of  two  years,  passing 
the  same  store  and  looking  in,  he  actually  saw  the  remainder  selling, 
which  he  joyfully  bought  for  a  few  pence.*.  From  these  anecdotes  may 
be  inferred  his  ardent  desire  for  knowledge,  his  energy  and  perseve 
rance.  He  completed  his  course  of  study  at  Thunder-Hill,  and  set 
tled  in  Philadelphia,  with  such  knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek,  mathematics, 
and  whatever  else  as  was  taught  at  Thunder-Hill.  He  was  appointed 
assistant  teacher  in  the  first  Philadelphia  academy,  being  solicited  by 
Dr.  Franklin  to  accept  this  office,  because  esteemed  among  the  best 
scholars  of  his  day.  He  taught  in  this  seminary  until  he  married. f  He 
was  also,  for  several  years  before  the  Revolution,  actively  engaged  in 
iron-works  at  Egg  Harbor,  New  Jersey.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
contest  of  the  North  American  colonies  with  England,  he  sided  with 
the  Whigs.  The  very  night  the  British  Parliament  passed  the  stamp- 
'act,  Franklin  wrote  to  Charles  Thomson,  "  The  sun  of  liberty  is  set, — 
we  must  light  the  lamps  of  industry  and  economy."  To  which  he  an 
swered,  "Be  assured,  we  shall  light  torches  of  another  sort."J  They 
did,— the  torches  of  war;  and  they  lighted  them  to  liberty,  glory,  and 
independence.  It  has  been  asserted,  but  not,  to  my  knowledge,  proved, 
that  he  originated  the  opposition  to  the  stamp-act.  He  was  secretary 
to  the  assembly  of  colonial  delegates,  who  met  in  New  York,  in  1765, 
commonly  called  the  Stamp-act  Congress.  He  was  qualified  for  this 
office,  not  only  by  probity,  ability,  and  education,  but  by  his  skill,  then 
rare,  in  short-hand  writing,  and  discharged  his  duties  so  satisfactorily 
that  when  the  first  Congress,  held  in  Philadelphia,  A.D.  1774,  met,  all 
eyes  were  fixed  on  him  as  the  fittest  person  for  the  secretaryship  of 
that  august  body.  He  was  unanimously  elected  thereto,  and  the  cir 
cumstances  of  the  notification  of  this  honor,  and  his  acceptance  of  it, 
were  remarkable.  I  write  them  in  the  words  of  his  friend  Watson: 
"  He  had  then  lately  married  Miss  Harrison  (the  heiress  to  the  estate 
of  Harriton,  near  the  city)  [of  Philadelphia],  and  arriving  there  in  his 
carriage,  with  his  wife,  had  just  alighted,  when  a  message  came  to  him 
from  the  President  of  Congress  that  he  must  see  him  immediately.  He 
went,  not  conceiving  what  it  could  be  for,  and  was  told  they  wished  him 
to  take  their  minutes.  He  set  to  it  as  a  temporary  affair,  but  in  fact 
the  service  so  commenced  continued  throughout  the  whole  war.  As  no 
compensation  was  received  for  the  first  service,  Congress  presented  him 
with  a  silver  urn  as  their  gift,  and  as  a  compliment  to  his  lady  for 
having  so  unexpectedly  deprived  her  of  the  attentions  of  her  husband, 
the  morning  after  their  marriage,  on  their  way  to  pay  their  respects  to 
his  aunt  and  her  family.  She  was  asked  what  the  present  should  be, 

*  Collections  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  vol.  i.  pp.  88,  89. 

f  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  vol.  xii.  p.  238. 

j  Niles's  Register,  vol.  ix.  (New  Series)  pp.  16-101. 


498  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  chose  an  urn.  As  secretary  of  Congress,  at  that  eventful  period, 
he  possessed  very  much  of  that  confidence  and  general  intelligence 
respecting  the  secret  machinery  of  government  which  now  more 
properly  pertains  to  the  secretary  of  state.  Never  changing  his  office, 
nor  losing  his  opportunities  for  information  and  service,  as  did  the 
members  who  depended,  for  their  places,  on  their  elections,  he  became, 
in  time,  their  common  friend  and  common  depositary  of  State-secrets 
and  measures.  Hence,  John  Jay,  when  minister  to  Spain,  wrote,  April, 
1781,  to  him,  'I  wish  you  were,  also,  secretary  of  foreign  affairs;  I 
should  then  have  better  sources  of  information  ;'  and  from  Passy,  19th 
July,  1788,  'When  I  consider  that  no  person  in  the  world  is  so  perfectly 
acquainted  with  the  rise,  conduct,  and  conclusion  of  the  American 
Revolution  as  yourself,  I  cannot  but  wish  you  would  bestow  but  one 
hour  a  day  to  give  posterity  a  true  account  of  it.'  After  1789,  when  he 
retired  to  '  Harriton,'  he  gathered  valuable  and  curious  papers  for  such 
history,  but,  after  writing  many  pages  of  it,  destroyed  them,  alleging 
as  his  reason  his  unwillingness  to  blur  the  reputation  of  many  families, 
then  rising  in  credit  and  esteem,  whose  progenitors  must  have  had  a 
bad  reputation  in  his  contemplated  book.  During  the  Revolution  many 
reports  were  in  circulation  [questionable  and  questioned],  but  when 
they  came  in  a  congressional  paper,  sanctioned  by  his  name  [doubt  and 
s peculation  ceased],  and  men  said,  here  comes  truth.  Such  was  the 
trust  in  his  veracity."* 

He  discharged  the  duties  of  the  secretaryship,  so  long  confided  to  him, 
with  far  more  than  common  ability  and  faithfulness,  and  to  the  general 
satisfaction  of  Congress  and  his  countrymen.  But  when  there  are  par 
ties  in  a  country  and  its  legislature,  as  there  were  in  ours,  even  in  the 
very  infancy  of  our  government,  suspicion  assails,  and  prejudice  mis 
judges  and  misrepresents  her  officers,  however  faithful  and  competent. 
This  fate  Charles  Thomson  did  not  escape.  John  Adams  in  his  Diary  f 
intimates  bias  in  the  secretary  of  Congress  on  account  of  his  connec 
tion  with  John  Dickinson,  and  thence  with  those  he  calls  the  cold  party 
in  that  body,  which  led  him  to  omit  all  motions  in  committee  of  the 
whole,  which  did  not  prevail  and  were  not  reported  to  Congress,  by 
which  was  evaded  the  appearance  of  subjects  they  disliked  on  the 
journals.  Mr.  Thomson  thus  conclusively,  I  think,  repelled  this 
charge :  "  I  was  unexpectedly  called  into  Congress,  and  the  President 
informed  me  that  they  had  chosen  me  to  take  their  minutes.  I  bowed 
and  said  I  awaited  their  pleasure.  After  a  short  silence  a  person^ 
dressed  in  gray  arose  and  spoke  (I  supposed  he  was  a  Presbyterian 
clergyman).  He  said  :  '  We  are  here  upon  an  occasion  of  great  diffi 
culty  and  distress, — like  the  friends  of  a  man  in  deep  embarrassment 
assembled  to  suggest  measures  for  his  relief.  He  would  suggest  one 
thing,  a  second  [speaker],  something  else  better,  and  a  third,  some 
thing  still  better,  which  he  would  embrace  and  think  no  more  of  rejected 
schemes.'  I  thought  this  a  very  good  instruction  to  me  as  to  taking 
the  minutes.  What  Congress  adopted  I  committed  to  writing;  with 
what  they  rejected  I  had  nothing  further  to  do ;  and  even  this  method 

*  Collections  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  vol.  i.  pp.  90,  91. 
f  Writings  of  John  Adams,  vol.  ii.  pp.  29,  30,  note. 
j  Patrick  Henry. 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  499 

led  to  some  squabbles  with  members  who  were  desirous  of  having  their 
speeches  and  motions — however  put  to  rest  by  the  majority — still 
preserved  upon  the  minutes."*  Mr.  Thomson's  good  sense  led  him  to 
adopt  the  parliamentary  rule,f — that  abortive  motions  are  not  entered 
on  the  journals  of  legislatures,  except  when  the  yeas,  nays  by  the  con 
stitutions  of  the  United  States,  or  the  States  of  this  Confederacy,  are 
called  :  "  a  rule  founded  in  great  prudence  and  good  sense,  as  there 
may  be  many  questions  proposed  which  it  would  be  improper  to  pub 
lish  in  the  form  in  which  they  were  made."J 

This  charge  of  John  Adams  is  without  foundation.  Able,  honest, 
and  patriotic,  he  was  irascible,  indiscreet,  and  very  liable  to  party  bias, 
as  appears  by  his  Diary. 

As  soon  as  the  first  Congress  of  the  United  States  was  organized, 
Mr.  Thomson  was  appointed  to  inform  General  Washington  of  his  elec 
tion  to  the  Presidency  of  the  United  States :  and  he  discharged  this 
duty.  He  declined  office,  though  asked  to  accept  it  under  the  new 
government,  "Believing" — I  use  his  own  words — "that  the  suitable 
hour  for  his  retirement  was  come."  Being  sensible  of  some  decadence 
of  body  and  mind,  "  he  wisely  withdrew  from  the  throng  of  competitors 
for  the  glittering  but  empty  prizes  of  ambition,  mingling  with  whom 
hoary-headed  men  are  unseemly  spectacles."  He  held  with  Hesiod: 

"  Let  enterprise  the  young  engage  ; 

Counsel  the  mature, — 
Prayer  is  the  proper  business  of  old  age," — 

prayer,  with  the  study  of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  meditation  on  their 
precious  contents, — inseparable  from  it  when  sincere.  He  had  an  ad 
ditional  motive  to  the  one  above  mentioned  for  retirement  from  public 
life, — his  desire  and  purpose  to  devote  his  days  and  nights  to  a  great 
work  which  he  contemplated, — a  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  from, 
the  "  Septuagint,"  and  of  the  New  from  the  Greek.  Withdrawn  from 
public  employment,  he  was  not  idle,  but  was  diligently  occupied  at 
"  Harriton"  with  these  translations  for  many  years.  "This  translation 
(of  the  Septuagint)  is  executed  with  great  fidelity,  though — being  the 
version  of  a  version — it  can  hardly  afford  much  assistance  to  the  bib 
lical  student.  The  translation  of  the  New  Testament  is  much  improved 
in  the  punctuation,  and  also  in  the  arrangement  of  the  objections  and 
replies  that  occasion  such  frequent  transitions  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 
The  notes  which  accompany  the  work  are  very  brief,  but  satisfactory 
as  far  as  they  go."§  These  translations  he  modestly,  but  I  think  in 
judiciously,  published  without  preface  or  introduction,  and  not  being 
heralded  by  any  notice  of  their  merits,  they  brought  him  neither  praise 

*  American  Quarterly  Review,  vol  i.,  article  "American  Biography.'-" 

f  Hatsel,  vol.  ii.  p.  85,  and  Jefferson's  Manual,  p.  158. 

J  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  entry  of  abortive  motions  on  the  journals 
of  legislatures  would  shed  much  light  upon  the  history  of  their  proceedings,  and 
aid  the  right  construction  of  their  laws.  The  strongest  arguments  of  the  strict 
constructionists  of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  are  furnished  by  abortive 
motions  of  members  of  the  convention  that  framed  it. 

%  Home's  Introduction  to  the  Critical  Study  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  vol.  ii. 
p.  760. 


500  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

nor  reimbursement  of  the  cost  of  printing  them,  though  they  have,  for 
some  years,  become  known  to  scholars  and  commmended.  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke  declared  "that  none  could  understand  adequately  the  New  Tes 
tament  without  diligent  study  of  the  Septuagint."  Charles  Thomson, 
therefore,  deserves  the  gratitude  of  unlearned  men  for  putting  it  within 
their  reach.* 

"  Mr.  Thomson  used  jocularly  to  say  he  was  at  least  half  an  Indian. 
This  he  said  in  allusion  to  his  having  been  adopted  into  the  Delaware  tribe 
after  the  treaty  at  Easton,  Pennsylvania,  in  1T56-7.  At  that  time  he 
was  invited  by  the  Society  of  Friends  then  and  there  to  be  present  and 
take  minutes  for  them  in  short-hand.  It  was  the  proper  business  of  the 
Reverend  Mr.  Peters,  the  secretary  of  the  Governor,  to  do  this,  and  he 
did  so ;  but  his  minutes  were  so  often  disputed  (in  the  reading  of  them) 
by  the  Indian  chief  Tadyuscund  that  Mr.  Thomson's  unofficial  minutes 
were  called  for,  and  were,  in  the  opinion  of  the  Indians,  so  true,  that 
they  solemnly  adopted  him,  and  gave  him  the  name  Wegh-wu-law-no- 
end — the  man  who  tells  the  truth,  "f 

Charles  Thomson  was  affable  and  dignified,  without  arrogance  or 
hauteur,  and  accessible ;  amiable,  and  cheerful,  and  religious,  without 
superstition  or  fanaticism.  His  education  inclined  him  to  the  Presby 
terians,  but  his  affection,  Watson  thought,  to  the.  Quakers  ;  but  he  allied 
himself  with  none  of  the  sects,  and,  I  regret  to  write,  not  with  the 
church,  "loving  to  say  he  was  attached  to  no  system  nor  peculiar 
tenets  of  any  sect  or  party,  and  therefore  better  qualified  to  be  a  faith 
ful  translator  of  the  Septuagint."  In  politics  he  was  an  old-school 
Republican.  So  accurate  was  his  observation  and  sound  his  judgment 
that  his  estimates  of  character  were  seldom  erroneous.  J 

"  He  was  tall,  becomingly  slender,  erect  to  the  close  of  his  life  as  a 
column,  never  wore  spectacles  nor  lost  his  teeth,  and  looked  younger 
than  he  was,  though  there  was  no  ruddiness  in  his  cheeks  to  enliven 
his  features."  He  was  regular  and  temperate,  and  long  survived  his 
contemporaries;  but,  while  vigorous  and  healthful  in  body,  his  mind 
fell  into  decay,  as  is  touchingly  described  by  his  friend  Watson  in  the 
following  account  of  his  visit  to  "  Harriton,"  in  the  spring  of  1824,  "when 
Charles  Thomson  was  in  his  ninety-fifth  year,  and  his  mind  a  ruin :" 

"  His  figure  and  countenance  were  very  little  changed.  He  could  not 
recognize  me,  though  he  made  several  brief  inquiries,  as  if  to  learn  who 
I  was.  He  was  very  courteous  and  cheerful,  and  returned  thanks,  with 
many  smiles,  to  my  kind  inquiries  in  regard  to  him.  He  was  in  full 
dress  on  his  sofa,  where  he  reclined  much  of  his  time,  slumbering  often 
throughout  the  day.  His  appetite  and  general  health  were  good.  He 
had  lost  all  idea  of  books  and  former  things,  and  passed  his  time  in 
silence,  unless  when  spoken  to.  A  circumstance  occurred  at  the  dinner- 
table,  he  being  placed  at  the  head  of  it,  which  showed  the  decadence  of 
his  mind.  While  grace  was  saying  by  the  Reverend  Mr.  Jones,  he 
began,  in  an  elevated  and  audible  voice,  to  repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer, 
nor  did  he  desist  or  regard  the  .voice  of  Mr.  Jones,  who  did  not  pause 


*  Collections  of  the  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  vol.  i.  pp.  89,  90. 
flbid.,  p.  90. 

jlbid.,  p.  92;  American  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  i.,  article  "American  Biog 
raphy.1' 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  501 

till  the  grace  was  ended.  This  prayer  was  all  said  in  the  words  of  his 
own  translation,  and  correctly  throughout,  thus  proving,  as  I  think,  that 
the  moral  faculties  are  much  more  enduring  than  the  intellectual  ones, 
and  that,  though  bereft  of  reason,  his  heart  still  glowed  with  veneration 
and  love  for  God.  He  made  no  remark  at  the  table,  and  did  not  heed 
the  conversation  of  those  around  it.  He  ate  with  discrimination  what 
was  offered  him,  but  asked  for  nothing.  For  some  time  it  had  been 
remarked  that  his  mental  faculties  were  most  impaired  at  the  time  of 
the  equinoxes.  In  the  rooms  I  observed  a  silver  urn  of  large  dimen 
sions  (a  present  from  the  Congress  of  17t4),  a  full-sized  bust  of  John 
Paul  Jones,  the  celebrated  naval  officer,  engraved  likenesses  of  Charles 
James  Fox  and  the  Count  de  Yergennes,  and  a  large  print  of  William 
Tell,  with  surrounding  spectators  and  scenery.  These  were  generally 
presents,  and  showed  his  former,  but  then  lost,  predilections  and 
opinions."* 

Charles  Thomson  died  the  ICth  of  August,  1824. 

"  When  a  youth,"  he  said,  "  deer  crossed  his  path,  and  he  saw  the 
beavers  at  work." 

He  was  twice  married.  His  first  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Charles 
Mather,  of  Chester  County,  Pennsylvania.  By  her  he  had  two  children, 
who  died  in  infancy.  His  second  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Richard 
Harrison,  of  Merion,  near  Philadelphia.  By  this  marriage  he  acquired 
the  estate  called  "Harriton,"  in  the  vicinity  of  Philadelphia,  where  he 
resided  for  many  years. 

His  second  wife,  firm  and  undismayed,  sustained  and  encouraged  him 
through  the  trials  of  the  American. Revolution,  and  aided  him  with  her 
pen  in  his  labors  while  secretary  of  Congress  ;  much  of  whose  business 
was  so  confidential  that  he  could  not  intrust  it  to  any  other  deputy,  and 
so  extensive  and  multifarious  that  he  could  not  have  done  it  unless 
aided,  or  at  least  without  delay  and  impairment  of  his  health. 

"His  translation  of  the  Bible,"  he  said,  "however  received  by  the 
world,  had  been  a  blessing  to  him."f 


ID. 
NOTICE  OF  JOHN  YINING. 

THE  ancestor  of  the  Yining  family,  Captain  Benjamin  Yining,  mi 
grated  from  New  England  to  Philadelphia,  and  was  resident  there 
about  1722.  He  removed  to  Salem,  New  Jersey;  was  highly  respect 
able  and  influential,  and  a  warden  of  the  Episcopal  church  in  that  town, 
in  one  of  the  aisles  of  which  he  was  interred,  his  grave  being  covered 
by  a  marble  slab  having  the  following  inscription:  "In  Memory  of 
Benjamin  Yiiiing,  Esquire,  late  Collector  of  Salem  and  Marblehead,  in 

*  Collections  of  Pennsylvania  Historical  Society,  vol.  i.  pp.  92-94. 

f  American  Quarterly  Review,  vol.  i.,  article  "American  Biography." 


502  LIFE  AND    COEEESPONDENCE 

New  England,  and  son  of  William  Vining,  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hamp 
shire,  who  died  September  5th,  1735,  aged  52  years,  1  month,  and  22 
days." 

He  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Hugh  Middleton,  a  judge  of  Salem 
County,  New  Jersey,  —  an  early  settler  there  and  large  landholder. 
Thoir  son  John  married  Rachel  Ridgley,  and,  on  her  decease,  Phebe, 
daughter  of  Abraham  and  Esther  Wynkoop.  He  owned  a  large  tract 
of  land  in  Salem  County,  and  removed  from  thence  to  the  State  of  Dela 
ware,  having  settled  at  or  near  Dover  in  that  State :  and  such  was  the 
exalted  character  he  sustained  that  he  was  elevated  to  the  highest  offices 
there.  On  one  of  his  visits  to  Salem  he  was  taken  sick  and  died,  and 
was  buried  in  an  aisle  of  its  Episcopal  church  (St.  John's).  Upon  the 
stone  covering  his  sepulchre  is  this  epitaph  :  "  In  Memory  of  the  Honor 
able  John  Vining,  Esquire,  Speaker*  of  the  Three  Lower  Counties  of 
Delaware,  who  departed  this  life  November  13th,  1770,  aged  forty-six 
years."  He  had  two  sons  by  his  first  wife, — namely,  Benjamin  and 
Nicholas,  who  died  before  his  father, — and  by  his  second,  Abraham 
(who  died  aged  two  years),  John,  and  one  daughter,  Mary.f 

John  Yining  was  born  at  Dover,  Delaware,  23d  December,  A.D.  1758, 
where  he  was  educated,  but  what  was  the  education  he  received  I  am 
not  informed.  He  studied  law  with  George  Read,  of  New  Castle, 
Delaware,  was  admitted  to  the  bar,  practiced  in  Dover,  his  residence, 
and  soon  distinguished  himself,  as  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  of  his 
election  to  the  United  States  House  of  Representatives,  having  not  more 
than  attained  to  the  age  constitutionally  required  to  qualify  for  member 
ship  of  that  body,  and  at  that  time  it  was  not  usual  to  advance  young 
men  to  high  offices.  So  strongty  was  the  partiality  of  his  fellow-citizens 
manifested  for  him  that  he  was  called  "  the  pet  of  Delaware. "J  Poverty, 
because  it  would  have  compelled  to  industry  and  self-denial,  would  have 
been  to  him  a  boon,  but  an  ample  fortune  was  his  by  inheritance. §  In 
17t3  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  How  faith 
fully  and  with  what  distinction  he  served  in  Congress  the  reader  can 
judge  from  the  following  notices  of  John  Yining,  which  I  have  collected 
from  a  recent  historian  : 

"  In  a  department  of  foreign  affairs, — a  mere  continuation  of  the  old 
department  of  that  name, — after  an  ineffectual  effort  of  Vining,  of  Dela 
ware  (20th  May,  1789),  to  establish  a  separate  one  for  home  business, 
these  two  departments  were  combined.  "|| 

*  Journal  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  "  three  lower  counties  on  Dela 
ware,"  A.D.  1769,  p.  161.  It  appears  by  the  same  journal  that  John  Vining, 
Esquire  (I  suppose  the  same  person),  was  prothonotary  and  clerk  of  the  peace  for 
Kent  County. 

f  I  am  indebted  for  the  above  facts  to  the  family  record  and  to  a  letter  (ad 
dressed  to  the  Reverend  S.  R.  Wynkoop,  Wilmington,  Delaware)  by  Colonel 
Robert  G.  Johnson,  a  gentleman  of  very  high  standing  in  Salem,  New  Jersey, 
who  died  since  its  date,  April  5th,  1850,  when  he  was  within  a  few  months  of 
entering  upon  his  eightieth  year.  In  a  paragraph  introductory  to  his  account  of 
the  Vining  family,  he  mentions  that  he  has  a  book  in  which  he  has  recorded  the 
history  of  the  most  respectable  families  (among  them  the  Vinings)  from  their 
settlement  in  Salem  County.  My  thanks  are  due  to  Miss  Elizabeth  Montgomery, 
writer  of  an  interesting  volume  ("  Reminiscences  of  Wilmington,  Delaware"), 
for  the  letter  of  Colonel  Johnson  and  permission  to  use  it. 

J  Reminiscences  of  Wilmington,  p.  152.  §  Ibid. 

||  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  i.  p.  102. 


OF  GEOEGE   READ.  503 

"  The  debt  of  Delaware  was  trifling,  but  Yining,  the  able  representa 
tive  of  that  State,  supported  the  assumption  [of  Revolutionary  State 
debts]  as  a  Federal  measure."* 

"  Tucker  (March  16th,  1789)  moved  to  strike  out  the  whole  report  of 
a  house  committee,  on  a  memorial  of  a  Pennsylvania  society,  praying 
the  abolition  of  slavery,  substituting  a  resolution  to  refuse  considering 
it  as  unconstitutional.*  Jackson  seconded  the  motion,  in  a  speech  as 
warm  as  Tucker's,  to  which  Yining  replied."! 

"  The  arguments  in  favor  of  assumption  were  recapitulated  by  Law 
rence,  Goodhue,  and  others,  and  by  Vining."| 

"  Yinfng  (January  28th,  1789)  spoke  in  favor  of  chartering  a  national 
bank."§ 

"Among  the  new  members  [of  the  Senate],  Livermore,  of  New  Hamp 
shire,  Jackson,  of  Georgia,  and  Vining,  of  Delaware,  had  already  dis 
tinguished  themselves  as  former  members  of  the  House. "|| 

Nature  was  liberal  to  him,  for,  besides  a  good  face  and  person,  he 
was  one  of  the  wittiest  men  of  his  day,  his  powers  of  conversation 
great,  and  these  endowments  set  off  by  very  fascinating  manners.  As 
a  specimen  of  his  wit  I  recall  the  following  anecdote,  which  I  heard 
from  my  father,  and  which  may  be  found  in  the  "  Reminiscences  of  Wil 
mington,"  p.  152  He  married  Miss  Seaton,  daughter  of  James  Seaton, 
Collector  of  New  York-!"  Her  father,  when  he  was  addressing  her, 
reasonably  anxious  for  some  knowledge  of  his  circumstances,  asked  : 
"Mr.  Yiniug,  what  are  your  prospects  ?"  Spreading  his  arms  abroad, 
he  promptly  answered,  "Prospects,  sir;  my  prospects  are  unbounded." 
"  Mr.  Yining,"  writes  Robert  G.  Johnson,  "  was  considered  a  very  acute 
advocate  at  the  bar,  a  very  able  debater  in  Congress,  and  a  highly 
creditable  representative  of  his  native  State."  Whether  nature  was  as 
liberal  in  endowing  him  with  the  solid  as  with  the  brilliant  intellectual 
faculties,  I  doubt.  He  attained  no  great  eminence  as  a  lawyer,**  which 
may  have  resulted  from  his  indolence,  but  when  he  addressed  juries  was 
fluent,  graceful,  acute,  and  even  eloquent,  and  always  listened  to  with 
attention  and  pleasure.  He  wanted  that  virtue,  without  which  all  other 
endowments,  however  prodigally  bestowed,  are  vain — prudence.  He 
was  indolent,  fond  of  pleasure,  and  generous,  and,  having  broken  his 
constitution  and  wasted  his  estate,  died  prematurely,  ff  One  of  my  uncles 
told  me  that  when  quite  a  boy  he  was  among  the  spectators  at  an 
assembly  in  New  Castle  graced  by  the  presence  of  the  brilliant  officers 
of  Lauzun's  legion,  then  lying  at  Wilmington.  Yining  suddenly  entered 
the  room  where  it  was  held,  and,  thrusting  into  my  uncle's  hand  a  bag  of 

*  Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States  (2d  Series),  vol.  i.  p.  172. 

f  Ibid.,  p.  184.  %  Ibid.,  p.  207.  \  Ibid.,  p.  448.  ||  Ibid.,  p.  2G2. 

\  "Who,"  says  Robert  G.  Johnson,  "  came  to  her  death  by  taking  medicine  by 
mistake."  "And  was,"  writes  Miss  Montgomery,  "  a  child  of  sorrow  consigned  to 
an  early  grave." 

**So  said  Judge  Thomas  Clayton,  but  when  he  knew  Yining  he  was  in  his 
decadence. 

ff  Reminiscences  of  Wilmington,  pp.  152,  153. 

In  a  docket  of  my  father,  George  Read,  Esquire,  of  his  suits  in  the  Supreme 
Court  of  Delaware,  beginning  October  term,  1793,  is  the  entry  (p.  46)  of  a  suit 
for  libel,  entitled  "John  Yining,  Esquire,  vs.  Peter  Brynberg  and  Samuel  An 
drews,"  which,  after  setting  forth  the  proceedings  in  the  case,  closes  with  these 
words:  "  Abated  by  plaintiff's  death,  in  the  winter  of  1802,  at  Dover." 


504  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

gold,  the  proceeds  of  the  sale  of  a  farm,  with  which  he  had  just  returned 
from  Jersey,  selected  a  partner  and  led  her  to  the  dance,  in  which  he  par 
ticipated  for  hours  after,  thoughtless  of  his  gold,  in  the  charge  of  a  mere 
lad,  in  a  crowd  of  very  miscellaneous  character.  For  the  following 
story  I  give  my  authority,  the  late  Ca3sar  A.  Rodney :  "  Mr.  Yining 
once  invited  a  large  company  to  dinner.  His  wife,  to  whom  he  had 
given  no  notice  of  this  invitation,  when  aware  of  the  arrival  of  the 
guests,  called  him  out,  in  much  disquietude,  to  say  there  was  nothing 
to  set  before  them.  'Nothing!'  exclaimed  he.  'Nothing,'  replied 
she,  sarcastically,  'nothing — but  the  black  bull.-  'Well,'  answered 
Vining,  'kill  the  bull.'"  "His  sister,  Mary  Yining,"  writes  R.  G. 
Johnson,  "  was  considered  the  most  accomplished  and  beautiful  of  all 
women  in  her  day — was  courted  by  many  gentlemen,  but  rejected 
them  all,  preferring  a  single  life  ;"  and  she  has  been  thus  described  to 
me  by  my  father  and  others :  her  conversational  powers,  they  said,  were 
even  superior  to  those  of  her  brother.  During  the  latter  period  of  our 
Revolution  and  that  immediately  succeeding  it  she  reigned  a  belle  in 
the  fashionable  circles  of  New  York  and  Philadelphia.  Among  her 
adorers  was  General  Wayne,  to  whom  his  soldiers,  from  his  headlong 
courage,  gave  the  sobriquet  of  "  Mad  Anthony."  C.  A.  Rodney  told 
me  he  was  one  evening  in  company  with  him  and  Miss  Yining,  when 
mention  being  made  of  a  man  who  had  been  guilty  of  some  act  of 
great  moral  obliquity,  Wayne  started  from  his  chair,  exclaiming,  with 
an  oath,  "Madam,  had  I  been  present  I  would  have  suicided  him!" 
She  found  herself  upon  the  decease  of  her  brother,  with  narrow  pecuniary 
resources,  in  charge  of  his  children, — four  boys, — to  the  care  and  train 
ing  of  whom  she  devoted  herself,  retiring  to  a  small  house  in  Wilming 
ton.  They  well  repaid  her  sacrifices  for  them,  giving  promise  of  useful 
ness,  and  one  of  them  of  distinction;  but  they  were  all  prematurely  cut 
down  by  consumption.*  .Miss  Yining  died  on  Good  Friday,  1821,  and 
was  buried  in  the  cemetery  of  Trinity  Church  on  Easter  Sunday, — 
having  purposed  to  receive  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper  from  the 
rector  of  this  church  on  that  day.  No  stone  marks  her  grave,  f  She 
was  born  August  28th,  17564 

In  the  course  of  conversation,  May  24th,  1859,  with  James  Rogers, 
Esquire, §  an  eminent  member  of  the  Delaware  bar,  and  Attorney-General 
of  this  State  for  twenty  years,  upon  my  asking  "whether  he  knew  John 
Yining  or  not,"  he  replied  that  "he  had  well  known  him,  and  related 
the  following  anecdotes  of  him. 


*  The  eldest  of  these  youths  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  New  York,  and  the 
second  in  age  was  in  the  United  States  Navy. — Reminiscences  of  Wilmington, 
pp.  154,  155. 

f  One  of  her  peculiarities  was  to  partially  conceal  always  her  beautiful  face  by 
a  veil  or  fan,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  her  life  by  a  cap,  and  another  never  to  be 
seen  abroad  unless  riding.  Among  her  guests  were  the  Duke  de  Liancourt  and 
Duke  of  Orleans,  afterwards  King  Louis  Philippe.  General  Miranda,  passing 
through  Wilmington  in  the  mail  at  night,  left  his  card  for  her  in  the  post-office. 
Not  a"  gray  hair  was  mingled  when  she  died  with  her  soft,  glossy,  brown  tresses, 
nor  a  wrinkle  marred  the  beauty  of  her  fine  forehead. — Reminiscences  of  Wil 
mington,  pp.  150,  151,  155,  156. 

J  Family  record. 

\  Mr.  Rogers  died  15th  September,  1868,  in  the  eighty-fcinth  year  of  his  age. 


OF  GEORGE   EEAD.  505 

Mr.  Rogers  (my  informant)  was  a  student  of  law,  for  three  years,  in 
Dover,  Delaware,  and  for  fifteen  months  of  this  period  in  the  office  of 
Nicholas  Ridgley,  then  Attorney-General,  and  afterwards  for  many 
years  Chancellor  of  this  State,  leaving  his  office  when  he  was  appointed 
Chancellor,  and  during  this  period,  in  1799,  1800,  and  1801,  was  very 
intimate  with  John  Vining. 

Yining  was  about  or  rather  below  middle  size,  very  handsome,  of  most 
engaging  and  winning  manners,  eloquent,  and  very  popular  as  an  advo 
cate,  "  with  a  voice  which  was  perfect  music;"  but  he  was  not  a  well-read 
lawyer,  in  corroboration  of  which  assertion,  Mr.  Rogers  said,  "I  and 
my  "fellow-student,  H.  M.  Ridgley  were  employed  by  Mr.  Vining  to 
draw  his  declarations,  which  we  did  with  willingness,  for  our  improve 
ment  in  this  part  of  the  practice  of  the  law.     On  one  occasion  he  gave 
us  a  list  of  cases  in  which  we  were  to  draw  his  uars.,  and  among  them 
was  this  case.     A  had  shot  or  struck  with  some  weapon  the  animal  of 
13,  and  it  had  died  by  reason  of  the  wounding,  and  Vining  had  brought 
an  action  on  the  case  for  the  damage  sustained  by  B.     Young  students 
as  we  were,  we  soon  perceived  that  trespass,  not  case,  should  have 
been  brought,  and  so  intimated  to  Vining;  but  he  would  not  admit  that 
he  had  mistaken  the  form  of  action,  arguing  that  A  had  fired  the  gun 
or  given  the  blow,  and  the  injury  was  consequential  thereto.     His  con 
versation  was  a  succession  of  flashes  of  wit,  so  bright  was  his  imagina 
tion."     Mr.  R.  was  invited  to  a  supper  Vining  gave,  he  thinks,  while 
the  Legislature  was  in  session.     Card-tables  were  laid  in  the  front,  and 
the  supper  in  the  back,  parlor  of  Vining's  house  in  Dover.     About  11 
o'clock  P.M.  his  kitchen-chimney  took  fire,  and  his  house  was  at  once 
filled  with  his  neighbors,  and  there  was  danger  of  his  entertainment 
being  broken  up.    But  Vining  prevented  this  catastrophe  by  a  specimen 
of  his  wonderful  address,  for,  with  perfect  self-possession,  and  in  the 
blandest  manner,  he  thanked  the  crowd,  of  all  classes  and  colors,  for 
their  kindness,  which,  he  rejoiced,  was  unnecessary,  as  his  guests  were 
numerous  enough  to  render  all  the  aid  required, —  all  the  while  ad 
vancing  upon  them,  with  graceful  bows,  they  insensibly  retreating,  till 
they  were  in  the  street.     While  Mr.  R.  was  a  student  of  law,  occurred 
a  case  of  homicide,  in  Sussex  County,  Delaware,  which  excited  deep 
interest.     "A  man  named  Wild  shot  another  named  Wilson,  in  a  Ma 
sonic  lodge.     It  is  remarkable  that  the  brother  of  the  slain  man,  James 
P.  Wilson,  subsequently  an  eminent  divine  in  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
assisted  in  the  prosecution,  as  did  O.  Horsey,  who  made  his  debut,  and 
in  the  outset  of  his  speech  urged  against  the  prisoner,  as  an  aggravating 
circumstance,  the  place  where  the  crime  was  committed,  which  indicated 
a  breach  of  solemn  Masonic  obligations.     As  this  was  uttered,  Asso 
ciate  Judge  John  Clayton,,  striking  violently  the  desk  before  him,  ex 
claimed,  '  How  do  you  know  this,  or  what  do  you  know  of  Masonic 
obligations  ?'    This  rough  interruption  so  embarrassed  H.  that  he  could 
not  go  on."     Vining's  speech  was  very  eloquent,  and  was  listened  to 
with  delight.     His  wife,  tall  and  rather  spare,  was  very  accomplished 
and  pleasing,  but  not  beautiful.     She  was  skilled  in  music,  and  her 
voice  so  powerful  that  Mr.  R.  often  heard  her  singing,  at  her  piano,  on 
summer  evenings,  while  sitting  at  his  lodgings,  a  considerable  distance 
from  her  house.     Upon  her  death,  and  the  sale  of  the  remnant  of  his 

33 


506  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

property  for  his  debts,  the  decadence  of  Yining  became  complete,  for 
he  submitted  to  live  at  Furby's  hotel,  where  Mr.  R.  boarded,  with  the 
run  of  its  table  and  bar,  without  cost.  His  intemperance  was  so  con 
firmed  that  he  was  always  under  the  influence,  more  or  less,  of  liquor. 
His  chamber  adjoined  that  of  Mr.  R.,  to  which  he  resorted  often,  de 
lighting  him  with  his  anecdotes  and  witty  conversation.  Often  he 
would  come  in,  late  at  night,  in  his  shirt  (taking,  he  said,  his  cold  bath), 
and  sit  reciting,  and  sometimes  declaiming,  poetry,  especially  passages 
from  Shakspeare,  as  long  as  Mr.  R.  would  listen.  "  He  was  athletic 
and  brave,"  said  Mr.  R.,  "even  in  his  decline;"  in  proof  of  which 
assertion,  he  added,  ''there  was,  while  I  lived  in  Dover,  a  meeting,  the 
occasion  of  which  I  cannot  recall,  at  which  Yining  was  present,  and 
one  Millis,  a  noted  bully,  six  feet  high,  square-built,  and  strong.  A  po 
litical  quarrel  was  raised,  and  he  threatened  to  beat  Yining,  and  struck 
at  him,  while  Yining's  friends  (among  them  Judge  Clayton)  held  him 
back.  Yining  remonstrated,  exclaiming,  '  Why  do  you  hold  me  ?  I  can 
whip  him  in  two  or  three  minutes!'  They  released  him,  and  in  two  or 
three  minutes  he  did  whip  him.  Yining,  I  suppose,  owed  his  victory 
to  his  self-possession,  and  his  assailing  his  enemy  so  quickly  that  he 
was  conquered  before  he  could  put  forth  his  greatly  superior  strength." 
He  died  in  the  winter  of  1802,  at  Dover." 

Miss  Yining  bequeathed  the  house  in  Wilmington,  Delaware,  in 
which  she  resided  during  the  closing  period  of  her  life,  with  her  furni 
ture,  to  her  housekeeper,  Mrs.  Motherall,  who  received  with  it  two 
family  Bibles,  one  of  which,  after  her  decease,  came  into  the  possession 
of  her  nephew,  Mr.  William  Motherall,  who  resides  now  (November, 
1858)  near  Newark,  Delaware.  Mr.  Motherall  has,  with  great  kind 
ness,  at  my  request  upon  hearing  that  he  possessed  one  of  these  Bibles, 
brought  it  to  me  and  permitted  me  to  examine  the  family  records  therein, 
and  make  extracts  from  them.  It  is  a  King  James's  Bible,  printed  A.D. 
1707.  These  records  are  made  with  much  care;  they  show  the  solici 
tude  felt  for  the  early  baptism  of  infants  and  provision  of  sponsors, 
which,  with  the  accouchements  and  witnesses  thereto,  are  noted  with 
much  particularity,*  as  if  to  guard  against  the  palming  of  suppositi 
tious  heirs  upon  Barriton  Fields,  the  Yining  estate,  near  Salem,  New 
Jersey.  Funeral  sermons  are  recorded  as  having  been  preached  even  at 
children's  burials.  I  add  a.  genealogical  table,  as  far  as  necessary, 
from  these  records  of  the  Yining  family, — 

William  Yining. 

Benjamin  Yining — Mary  Middleton. 


*  Of  this  particularity  the  following  entry  is  a  specimen : 

"John  Yining,  third  son  of  John  Yining,  and  the  second  child  by  Phebe,  his 
wife,  was  born  at  Dover  town,  in  Kent  County,  Delaware,  at  their  house,  on  the 
23d  day  of  December,  1758,  at  forty-five  minutes  sifter  six  of  the  clock,  in  the 
afternoon.  Present,  Elizabeth  Thomas,  midwife  ;  Mary  Eidgley,  grandmother; 
said  John,  and  Eliza'beth  Jackson,  widow,  and  Mary 'Yining/ his  aunt.  And 
•was  christened  by  the  Reverend  Hugh  Neil,  Missionary  at  Oxford,  in  Penn 
sylvania,  on  the  14th  day  of  May,  1759,  and  Mrs.  Mary  Ridgley  and  Mrs. 
Elizabeth  Chew,  wife  of  Benjamin  Chew,  Esqr.,  and  Mr.  Caesar  Rodney,  stood 
godmothers  and  godfather." — Family  Record. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  507 

John  Vining — Rachel  Ridgley,  first  wife  ; 

Phebe  Wynkoop,  second  wife. 
John  Vining — \Mary  Seaton. 

Issue :  four  sons,  who  died  shortly  before  or  after  attaining  man's 
estate. 


EL 

NOTICE    OF   COMMODORE   BARNEY. 

JOSHUA  BARNEY  was  born  in  Maryland,  in  1759.  He  went  early  to 
sea,  in  the  mercantile  service,  and  after  several  voyages,  and  when  not 
more  than  sixteen  years  of  age,  the  captain  and  mate  of  the  ship  in 
which  he  was  employed  "being  disabled  by  illness,  he  took  charge  of 
and  commanded  her  for  eight  months,  encountering  great  difficulties 
and  perils,  through  which  he  brought  her  safely  to  Baltimore,  manifest 
ing  nautical  skill,  courage,  and  decision  extraordinary  in  one  so  young. 
He  then  entered  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and,  with  the  rank  of 
lieutenant,  was  in  several  actions,  and  the  vessels  in  which  he  served 
very  successful  in  making  prizes,  several  of  which  he,  as  prize-master, 
brought  safely  to  the  United  States.  He  was  three  times  captured  by  the 
enemy, — twice  exchanged  and  once  escaped.  In  1782  he  received  from 
the  State  of  Pennsylvania  the  command  of  the  ship  Hyder-Ally,  often 
guns,  and  while  waiting  in  the  Delaware  Bay  a  favorable  wind  for 
putting  to  sea,  was  attacked  by  the  British  ship  General  Monk,  with 
two  consorts  in  sight,  she  carrying  twenty  guns.  This  ship,  so  superior 
in  force,  he  bravely  engaged,  and,  gaining  some  advantage  by  a  very 
adroit  stratagem,  captured  her  in  twenty-six  minutes, — the  British  having 
lost  thirty  killed  and  fifty-three  wounded,  besides  fifteen  out  of  sixteen 
officers,  his  own  loss  having  been  but  four  killed  and  fifteen  wounded. 
The  command  of  the  captured  ship,  bought  by  the  United  States,  was 
given  to  Barney,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  having  voted  him  a  sword  for 
his  skill  and  courage  in  taking  her!  He  sailed  in  the  "  Monk"  with  de 
spatches  for  Franklin,  and  was  received  with  distinction  at  the  Court  of 
Versailles,  and  returned  with  "barrels  of  gold  and  chests  of  silver,"  a 
loan  from  France,  and  the  welcome  news  that  the  preliminary  treaty 
between  England  and  the  United  States  was  signed.  When  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States  went  into  operation,  a  navy  was  to  be 
created;  but  it  was  not  until  1794  that  even  the  first  step  towards  it 
was  taken,  not  without  strong  opposition,  and  it  was  even  provided  that 
the  act  then  passed  for  building  six  frigates  should  be  suspended  if 
peace  could  be  purchased  with  Algiers.  Employment  not  being  obtain 
able  at  home,  Barney,  active  and  ambitious,  sought  and  received  the 
commission  of  captain  in  the  French  service  and  held  the  command  of 
one  of  their  frigates  for  five  years,  when  he  resigned,  because,  I  sup 
pose,  of  the  quasi  war  between  her  and  the  United  States.  The  dispute 
between  the  United  States  and  France  placed  him,  while  he  held  his 
commission  in  the  French  service,  in  a  difficult  and  delicate  position. 


508  LIFE.   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

While  loyal  to  the  flag  under  which  he  sailed,  he  was  bound  to  main 
tain  his  allegiance  to  his  country,  and  the  unfriendly  feelings  between 
the  governments  of  France  and  the  United  States  made  this  not  an  easv 
matter.  He  was  charged  with  having  treated  Americans  brought  into 
ports  of  the  French  West  India  Islands,  by  privateers,  with  indiffer 
ence,  contempt,  and  neglect;  to  have  hoisted,  in  scorn  of  his  country, 
the  American  ensign,  union  down;  to  have  boaste'd  that  he  had  orders 
in  his  pocket  for  the  capture  of  American  vessels,  and  that  if  Jefferson 
should  not  be  elected  President,  France  would  declare  war  against  the 
United  States  in  three  months;  and  yet  when  he  arrived  at  Baltimore 
with  the  two  French  frigates  under  his  command,  he  was  received  with 
the  highest  honors,  feasted,  addressed,  and  followed  by  throngs.  In 
1812,  when  war  was  declared  by  the  United  States"  against  Great 
Britain,  he  offered  his  services  to  the  President,  and  in  1813  received 
the  command  of  the  flotilla  in  the  Chesapeake.  In  1814  he  was  active 
in  annoying  the  enemy  in  that  bay,  but  was  compelled  by  a  superior 
force  to  abandon  and  burn  his  vessels.  Retreating  with  his  crews 
before  the  advancing  army  of  General  Ross,  he  made  a  gallant  stand 
near  Bladensburg,  which  he  maintained  until  almost  surrounded,  inflict 
ing,  by  the  quick  and  well-aimed  fire  of  his  few  pieces  of  artillery,  a 
heavy  loss  upon  the  British.  He  was  wounded,  made  prisoner,  and 
released  on  parole.  He  received  a  ball  in  his  thigh,  which  the  utmost 
skill  of  the  most  eminent  surgeons  failed  to  find  and  extract.  After  the 
peace  of  1815  he  retired  to  his  farm;  but,  as  might  have  been  expected 
in  a  man  so  active  and  ambitious,  soon  tired  of  agricultural  pursuits 
and  removed  to  Baltimore.  He  then  went  on  a  mission  to  Europe,  and 
on  his  return  found  himself  crippled  by  his  wound.  His  strength  being 
partially  restored,  impatient  of  inaction,  he  determined  to  remove  to 
Kentucky,  and  on  his  journey  thither  died  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania, 
December  1st,  1818,  aged  sixty  years.  The  corporation  of  Washington 
voted  him  a  sword  for  his  services  in  defence  of  that  city,  and  the 
Legislature  of  Georgia  their  thanks.  Commodore  Barney  was  uncom 
monly  handsome,  and  his  courage,  enterprise,  judgment,  seamanship, 
and  knowledge  of  naval  tactics  entitled  him  to  be  ranked  with  the 
most  distinguished  naval  officers  of  the  United  States.* 


*  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  vol.  L,  article  "  Barney  ;"  Goldsborough's  United 
States  IS  aval  Chronicle,  pp.  30,  31 ;  Hiklreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol. 
i.  pp.  479,  480,  703,  704. 


OF  GEOEGE   EEAD.  509 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  UNITED   STATES   SENATORS,  1789. 

MONDAY,  May  llth,  1780,  Messrs.  Ellsworth,  Carroll,  and  Few  were 
appointed  a  committee  to  report  a  mode  of  executing-  the  second  para 
graph  of  the  third  section  of  the  first  article  of  the  Constitution.  May 
14th,  1789,  the  committee  appointed  to  report  a  mode  of  carrying-  into 
effect  the  provision  in  the  second  clause  of  the  third  section  of  the  first 
article  of  the  Constitution  reported: 

Whereupon,  Eesoli'ed,  That  the  Senators  be  divided  into  three 
classes : 

The  first  to  consist  of  Messrs.  Lang-don,  Johnson,  Morris,  Henry, 
Izard,  and  Gunu ; 

The  second,  of  Messrs.  Wingate,  Strong,  Patterson,  Bassett,  Lee, 
Butler,  and  Few ; 

And  the  third,  of  Messrs.  Dalton,  Ellsworth,  Elmer,  Maclay,  Read, 
Carroll,  and  Grayson. 

That  three  papers  of  equal  size,  numbered  one,  two,  and  three,  be 
by  the  Secretary  rolled  up  and  put  in  a  box  and  drawn  by  Messrs. 
Langdon,  Wingate,  and  Dalton  in  behalf  of  the  respective  classes  in 
which  each  of  them  is  placed,  and  that  the  classes  shall  vacate  their 
seats  in  the  Senate  according  to  the  order  of  numbers  drawn  for  them, 
beginning  with  number  one  ; 

And  that  when  Senators  shall  take  their  seats  from  States  that  have 
not  yet  appointed  Senators,  they  shall  be  placed  by  lot  in  the  foregoing- 
classes,  but  in  such  a  manner  as  shall  keep  the  classes  as  nearly  equal 
as  may  be  in  numbers. 

Friday,  May  15th,  1789,  the  Senate  proceeded  to  determine  the 
classes,  according  to  the  resolve  of  yesterday,  on  the  mode  of  carrying 
into  effect  the  provision  of  the  second  clause  of  the  third  section  of  the 
first  article  of  the  Constitution,  and,  the  numbers  being  drawn,  the 
classes  were  determined  as  follows  : 

Lot  No.  1,  drawn  by  Mr.  Dalton,  contained  Messrs.  Dalton,  Ells 
worth,  Elmer,  Maclay,  Read,  Carroll,  and  Grayson,  whose  seats  shall 
accordingly  be  vacated  in  the  Senate  at  the  expiration  of  the  second 
year. 

Lot  No.  2,  drawn  by  Mr.  Wingate,  contained  Messrs.  Wingate, 
Strong,  Patterson,  Bassett,  Lee,  Butler,  and  Few,  whose  seats  shall 
accordingly  be  vacated  in  the  Senate  at  the  expiration  of  the  fourth 
year. 

Lot  No.  3,  drawn  by  Mr.  Langdon,  contained  Messrs.  Langdon, 
Johnson,  Morris,  Henry,  Izard,  and  Gunn,  whose  seats  shall  accord 
ingly  be  vacated  in  the  Senate  at  the  expiration  of  the  sixth  year. 


510  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


Gk 
NOTICE  OF  GUNNING  BEDFORD. 

GUNNING  BEDFORD  was  born  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia  in  the  year 
1747.  He  was  first  cousin  of  Governor  Bedford,  of  Delaware,  and  they 
were  of  English  descent.  Gunning  Bedford  graduated  at  Nassau 
Hall,  New  Jersey,  in  1771.  James  Madison  and  Hugh  M.  Bracken- 
ridge  were  his  classmates.*  Mr.  Bedford,  while  a  student  at  Prince 
ton,  married  Miss  Jane  Ballaroux  Parker,  of  New  York, — a  lady  five 
years  older  than  himself,  of  great  intelligence,  and  distinguished  by 
vivacity  and  grace,  which  she  probably  derived  from  her  mother,  a 
native  of  France.  He  was  one  of  the  best  scholars,  and  the  first  speaker 
of  his  class, — which  appears  from  the  fact  that  he  received  a  high 
honor, — being  selected  to  deliver  the  valedictory  oration  at  his  com 
mencement  :  his  wife  travelled  with  her  baby  to  Princeton,  and  heard 
him  deliver  it.  He  studied  law  with  Joseph  Reed,  an  eminent  lawyer 
of  Philadelphia,  and,  having  been  admitted  to  the  bar,  removed  to 
Dover,  Delaware,  where  he  practised  successfully  until  the  unhealthi- 
ness  of  that  town  compelled  him  to  remove  with  his  family  to  Wil 
mington  in  that  State.  He  was  a  handsome  man,  and  a  very  fluent 
and  agreeable  speaker,  and  the  high  place  he  gained  in  the  esteem  and 
confidence  of  his  fellow-citizens  was  shown  by  the  offices  of  trust 
and  importance  he  filled.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Legislature  of 
Delaware,  of  Congress,  and  of  the  convention  which  formed  the  Con 
stitution  of  the  United  States,  in  the  debates  of  which  he  partici 
pated.  In  the  deeply  interesting  and  exciting  discussion  upon  the 
question  "  whether  or  not  the  States  should  be  equally  represented  in 
the  Federal  Legislature,"  he  expressed  himself  with  warmth, f  so  near 
to  intemperance  to  some  it  seemed,  as  subjected  him  to  animadversion ; 
but  when  it  is  considered  that  this  warmth  was  prompted  by  generous 
zeal  for  his  State,  on  a  question  of  vital  importance  to  her,  we  may 
justly  conclude  that  it  did  not  deserve  severe  censure.  Soon  after,  Mr. 
Bedford  was  appointed  Attorney-General  of  Delaware,  and  filled  this 
office  with  fidelity  and  distinction.  Upon  the  organization  of  the  gov 
ernment  of  the  United  States  he  was  commissioned  the  first  judge  of 
the  United  States  District  Court  of  Delaware.  This  high  office  he 
filled,  honorably  for  himself  and  satisfactorily  to  the  public,  until  he 
was  disabled  by  disease,  which  terminated  his  life  in  1812,  in  the  sixty- 
fifth  year  of  his  age.| 

*  Catalogus  Collegii  Neo  Caesariensis,  p.  24. 

f  Pitkin's  Civil  'and  Political  History  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
239-241. 

J  "Judge  Bedford  and  his  lady  were  remarkably  handsome,  and  of  noble 
stature.  Mrs.  Bedford  received  a  superior  education.  She  spoke  French  fluently, 
and  when  Wilmington  was  filled  with  French  emigrants  she  was  their  friend 
and  patron.  Her  entertainments  excelled  in  tasteful  arrangement, — so  said  for 
eigners.  Her  father  was  an  early  friend  and  companion  of  Dr.  Franklin,  who 
encouraged  him  in  giving  her  a  classical  education,  and  she  enjoyed  his  friend 
ship,  and  was  one  of  his  correspondents.  Mrs.  Bedford,  when  her  father  edited  a 
paper  in  New  York,  aided  him  by  writing  and  translating." — Reminiscences  of 
Wilmington,  p.  288. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  511 

I  am  indebted  to  a  lady,  daughter  of  Judge  Bedford,  and  the  only 
survivor  of  his  children,  for  most  of  the  facts  of  the  foregoing  notice, 
which  she  very  kindly  communicated  to  me  March  16th,  1858. 

A  monument  is  now  (19th  October,  1858)  ready  to  be  placed  in  the 
cemetery  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  Wilmington,  Delaware, 
over  Judge  Bedford's  grave  (by  the  pious  regard  to  his  memory  of  his 
only  surviving  child,  Miss  Henrietta  I.  Bedford),  which  he  requested 
should  be  made  as  near  as  possible^to  the  door  of  the  small  church  still 
standing  on  the  upper  corner  of  the  bury  ing-ground,  and  fronting  on 
the  main  street  of  that  city.  It  is  an  oval  marble  column,  about  eight 
feet  high,  standing  on  a  base  of  the  height  of  three  feet ;  it  has  a  piece 
of  drapery  sculptured,  with  a  tassel  at  each  end,  as  if  thrown  over  it, 
and  the  Bedford  coat-of-arms, — three  lions'  claws  and  the  Ballaroux, 
two  leopards, — with  the  following  inscription : 

In  hope 

of  a  joyful  resurrection, 

through  faith  in  Jesus  Christ, 

here  rests  the  mortal  part 

of 

GUNNING  BEDFORD. 

Born  in  Philadelphia,  A.D.  1747, 

Graduated  at  Nassau  Hall,  New  Jersey,  A.D.  1771, 

with  great  distinction. 

Having  studied  law  in  Philadelphia, 

he  practised  in  Delaware 

with  success  ; 

distinguished  by  his  eloquence  as  an  advocate ; 
Attorney-General,  member  of  the  Legislature  of  Delaware 

\_and  of  Congress'], 

and  one  of  the  delegates  to  the  Convention  that 

framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  [by  whose 

efforts,  tvith  those  of  other  delegates,  two  Senators  were  obtained 

for  the  State  of  Delaware]. 

.Ye  received  from  Washington  the  commission  of  first  Judge  of  the 
District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Delaware, 

which  he  held  till  his  death  in  1812. 
He  so  behaved  in  these  high  offices  as  to  deserve  and  receive 

the  approbation  of  his  fellow-citizens. 

His  form  ivas  goodly,  his  temper  amiable, 

his  manners  tvinning,  and  his  discharge 

of  private  duties  exemplary. 

Reader,  may  his  example  stimulate 

you  to  improve  the  talents — be  they  five,  or 

two,  or  one — with  which  God  has  entrusted  you.* 

*  This  epitaph  was  written  by  the  author  at  the  request  of  Miss  Bedford. 


512  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 


HI. 

NOTICES  OF  RICHARD  PETERS  AND  EDWARD 
TILGHMAN. 

RICHARD  PETERS  was  bo'rn  near  Philadelphia,  August  22d,  1 744.  He 
was  a  graduate  of  Philadelphia  College,  and  studied  and  practised  law, 
and  was  early  successful,  and  especially  because  of  his  knowledge  of  the 
land-laws  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  German  language.  In  the  Revolu 
tionary  war  he  was  captain,  for  a  short  time,  of  a  volunteer  corps,  and 
then  was  appointed  to  the  War  Office,  where  he  served  till  1781,  Avhen  he 
resigned,  and  was  thanked  by  Congress  for  his  services.  He  shared,  with 
the  great  financier,  Robert  Morris,  in  the  efforts  and  sacrifices  which  so 
often  saved  the  American  cause  from  ruin,  during  the  contest  with 
Great  Britain.  Mr.  Peters  was  a  member  of  the  Continental  Congress, 
and,  when  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  went  into  operation, 
having  refused  the  office  of  Comptroller  of  the  United  States  Treasury, 
accepted  the  United  States  District  Judgeship  for  Pennsylvania,  which 
he  held  for  thirty-six  years.  Equal  to  his  duties,  and  diligent  in  dis 
charging  them,  he  deserved  to  be  held,  as  he  was,  a  faithful  and  useful 
judge.  He  was  an  eminent  agriculturist,  president  of  the  society  insti 
tuted  in  Pennsylvania  to  promote  agriculture,  and  wrote  valuable  essays 
on  this  science,  the  publication  of  which,  as  he  was  an  experimental 
farmer,  was  extensively  useful.  He  was  the  wittiest  man  of  his  day, 
and  adorned  his  profession  of  Christianity  in  all  the  relations  of  life.* 

EDWARD  TILGHMAN,  an  eminent  member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar,  was 
born  at  Wye,  on  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Maryland,  llth  December,  1750. 
His  paternal  ancestor,  a  native  of  Kent,  England,  settled  in  Maryland 
in  1662,  and  his  family  was  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  respectable  in 
that  State.  He  was  educated  in  Philadelphia,  and  studied  law,  for  a 
short  time,  there,  and  then,  for  several  years,  in  the  Middle  Temple, 
London,  assiduously  attending  the  courts,  and  taking  full  notes  (still 
extant)  of  the  arguments  of  the  great  lawyers  of  that  period,  and  the 
decisions  of  the  judges,  especially  Lord  Mansfield.  His  method  of  study 
cannot  be  too  strongly  recommended.  He  studied  the  whole  system  of 
law,  beginning  with  estates  and  tenures,  and  pursued  the  cognate 
branches  and  collateral  subjects,  in  due  order,  by  which  means  he  ac 
quired  a  knowledge  of  the  principles  which  rule  in  all  departments  of 
legal  science.  The  advantage  of  this  mode  of  study  is  apparent  when 
contrasted  with  the  common  one  of  getting  an  outline  of  the  law  by 
reading  commentaries,  and  filling  it  up  by  desultory  perusal  of  treatises 
and  reports.  The  last  can  only  make  superficial  lawyers ;  the  other 
has  made  such  as  are  the  glory  of  their  profession.  Mr.  Tilghman 
surpassed  his  contemporaries  in  knowledge  of  contingent  remainders 
and  executory  devises,  which  have  been  called  "the  higher  mathe 
matics  of  the  law,"  and  " could  untie,"  said  an  eminent  judge,  "the 

*  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  vol.  x.  pp.  56,  57. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  513 

most  complicated  knots  of  a  contingent  remainder,  or  executory  devise, 
as  easily  as  he  could  his  garters."  There  can  be  no  better  evidence 
than  this  that  his  intellect  was  clear,  acute,  discriminating,  and  compre 
hensive.  He  was,  too,  an  able  advocate,  fluent,  graceful,  and  per 
spicuous,  and  well  understood  how  to  manage  a  case.  Qualified,  as  he 
was,  beyond  his  compeers,  for  the  judicial  station,  such  was  his 
modesty  and  repugnance  to  office  that  he  refused  the  Chief  Justiceship 
of  Pennsylvania,  offered  him  by  Governor  McKean.  He  has  left 
nothing  behind  him  but  his  legal  opinions,  which  were  numerous,  and 
which,  if  collected,  would  establish  the  rank  claimed  for  him  among 
the  most  distinguished  of  his  profession,  and  be  a  valuable  legacy  to 
the  bar.  Mr.  Tilghman  was  benevolent,  generous,  and  honorable,  de 
lighting  his  friends  by  the  amenity  of  his  temper,  and  his  wit,  which 
had  no  causticity,  and  by  his  courteous  manners.  He  died  November 
1st,  1815.  The  article  in  volume  xiv.  pp.  581-583  of  the  Encyclopaedia 
Americana,  of  which  the  foregoing  notice  is  a  summary,  was  written 
bv  one  who  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Mr.  Tilghman,  and  shows  his 
ability  to  form  a  correct  estimate  of  him. 


514  LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Mr.  Read  at  Dover — Letter  of  John  Dickinson — Commencement  of  the  second 
session  of  First  Congress — Letter  of  Richard  Bassett ;  his  opinion  as  to  the 
assumption  of  State  debts — Mr.  Read  attends  United  States  Senate,  8th  March, 
1790— Success  of  the  new  government — President's  message ;  recommends  en 
couragement  of  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  and  provision  for 
maintaining  public  credit  —  Hamilton's  report,  recommending  payment  of 
United  States  debt  and  assumption  of  State  debts  by  funding  them — Mr. 
Madison's  motion  to  discriminate  between  original  creditors  and  present  holders 
— Resolutions  introduced  into  United  States  House  of  Representatives  in  con 


formity  to  Hamilton's  report,  and  debates  thereon ;  arguments  for  and  against 
assumption  ;  resolution  for  assumption  adopted  by  the  House,  then  reconsidered 
and  rejected — Bill  making  provision  for  United  States  debt  passed  the  House — 


The  question  where  should  be  the  permanent  seat  of  the  United  States  govern 
ment;  bill  passed  in  United  States  Senate  fixing  it  temporarily  in  Philadel 
phia  and  permanently  on  the  Potomac,  and  bill  for  funding  United  States 
debt,  with  amendment  assuming  in  part  the  State  debts  ;  Mr.  Read's  vote  for 
both;  beneficial  resultof  these  measures — Congress  adjourns — Letters  of  Colonel 
Read  and  Mrs.  Thompson  as  to  claim  of  General  Thompson's  heirs  for  a  manor 
from  the  Penns,  for  his  services  as  their  surveyor — Third  session  of  Congress 
commences;  Mr.  Reed  attends,  8th  December,  1790,  and  through  this  session 
— Acts  imposing  further  duties  on  foreign  spirits  and  a  duty  on  domestic;  act 
chartering  United  States  Bank ;  both  bills  pass,  Mr.  Read  voting  for  them ; 
arguments  for  and  against  these  measures — Mr.  Monroe's  motion  for  doors  of 
United  States  Senate  to  be  open  when  in  legislative  session  rejected,  renewed, 
and  proposition  finally  succeeds  ;  reasons  for  it — Congress  adjourns — Letter  of 
Judge  Anderson  ;  notice  of  him — First  session  of  Second  Congress  commences ; 
Mr/Read  present  at  its  opening  and  till  its  close — Most  important  bills  passed, 
one  for  apportionment  of  representatives,  the  other  for  the  increase  of  the 
army;  final  shape  and  passage  of  the  first-named  bill,  and  Mr.  Read's  vote  for 
it — State  of  parties — St.  Clair's  defeat — Bill  for  increase  of  army  debated  in 
both  Houses,  and  argument  for  and  against  it ;  disagreement  of  Senate  and 
House  on  this  bill ;  committee  of  conference ;  their  report  adopted  and  bill 
passed  ;  Mr.  Read's  vote  for  it — Congress  adjourns — Mr.  Read's  letter  on  behalf 
of  his  second  son,  with  a  notice  of  him — Mr.  Read's  letter  to  Mrs.  House,  and 
ill  health — Second  session  of  Second  Congress  commences  ;  Mr.  Read  present ; 
one  of  a  committee  upon  expediency  of  a  law  respecting  fugitives  from  justice, 
who  report  a  bill ;  history  of  its  progress  and  passage — Principal  measures  of 
this  session — Mr.  Read's  opinion,  in  his  letter  to  Colonel  Bedford,  of  John 
Adams's  suitability  for  Vice- President ;  he  receives  the  electoral  vote  of 
Delaware — Giles's  resolutions  censuring  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury — Con 
gress  adjourns — Mr.  Read  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  Delaware,  and  letters 
relating  to  this  appointment — Resigns  his  seat  in  United  States  Senate — Letter 
of  John  Dickinson — St.  Domingo,  history  and  description  of;  negro  insurrec 
tion  there;  fugitives  from  St.  Domingo  in  New  Castle  ;  letter  of  one  of  them 
to  General  Washington  in  their  case,  and  Mr.  Read's  reply;  Mr.  Jefferson's 
opinion  on  the  question  of  the  right  of  Congress  to  grant  these  fugitives  re 
lief,  and  comment  thereon — Letters  of  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  Richard  Bassett — 
Opinion  of  Mr.  Read  as  to  the  right  of  the  Governor  of  Delaware  to  fill  the 
vacancy  in  the  United  States  Senate  caused  by  his  resignation,  the  Legislature 
of  Delaware  meeting  thereafter  and  adjourning  without  filling  it — Governor 
Clayton  appoints  Kensey  Johns  to  succeed  Mr.  Read ;  Senate  refuses  him  his 
seat;  comments  on  this  case — Mr.  Read's  petition  to  the  Delaware  Legislature 
for  increase  of  his  salary  as  Chief  Justice — Mr.  Read's  character  as  a  judge, 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  515 

and  testimonies  in  regard  to  it— His  decease,  and  character  as  a  man— Place 
of  interment,  and  epitaph — Mr.  Dickinson's  gift  to  Mrs.  Bead  and  her  children 
— Notice  of  John  Dickinson — Appendix  A,  notice  of  Kensey  Johns — Appendix 
B,  portraits  of  George  Head ;  Appendix  C,  Mr.  Read's  mansion,  means,  and 
style  of  living. 

IN  the  beginning  of  the  year  1790  Mr.  Head  was  in 
Dover,  and  while  there  received  the  following  letter  from 
John  Dickinson,  who,  importuned  for  payment  of  the 
balance  still  due  on  the  bond  he  gave  in  1782  for  one 
thousand  pounds,  borrowed  for  the  use  of  the  State  of  Dela 
ware,  requested  him  again  to  exert  his  influence  for  the 
payment  of  this  balance. 

"My  DEAR  FRIEND, — Some  time  ago  I  requested  the 
assistance  of  thy  influence  with  the  treasurer  to  relieve  me 
from  the  balance  due  on  my  bond  to  Robert  Morris  for  the 
use  of  the  State,  now  amounting  to  about  three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  pounds.  He  has  made  the  most  positive 
promises  that  the  first  money  of  the  public  at  his  com 
mand  shall  be  applied  to  this  purpose.  But  still  the  debt 
remains  and  Tilghman  distresses  me  beyond  description.  I 
need  say  no  more  to  my  friend,  except  it  be  to  repeat  my 
request,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  employ  thy  just 
influence  on  this  occasion  in  behalf  of  thy  truly  affectionate 
friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON.* 

"WILMINGTON,  January  9th,  1790. 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  now  at  Dover." 

The  second  session  of  the  First  Congress  commenced  in 
New  York,  January  4th,  1790.  Mr.  Read  was  not  present 
then,  nor  for  some  time  thereafter,  but  from  his  faithful 
discharge  of  his  duties,  public  and  private,  he  is  entitled  to 
the  presumption  that  this  absence  was  unavoidable.  His 
colleague,  Richard  Bassett,  urged  his  attendance  in  the 
letter  that  follows,  which  is  interesting  as  showing  the  state 
of  parties  and  of  a  very  important  and  exciting  question  at 
its  date.  Mr.  Bassett's  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  the 
assumption  of  the  State  debts  by  the  United  States,  ex 
pressed  in  this  letter,  remained  unchanged,  for  he  voted 

*  Ante,  Chapter  VI.  p.  489. 


516  LIFE  AND   CORRESPONDENCE 

against  it,  while  Mr.  Read,  taking,  it  seems  to  me,  a  more 
enlarged  and  statesman-like  view,  voted  for  it  : 


YORK,  March  1st,  1790. 

"DEAR  SIR,  —  Your  very  long  absence  from  this  place 
occasions  much  inquiry,  and  is  the  subject  of  some  animad 
version.  1  have  anxiously  expected  to  see  you  every  day 
for  these  two  weeks.  I  hope  the  delay  is  not  occasioned  by 
bad  health.  One  great  and  important  question  on  the 
funding  business  has  been  determined  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives,  in  a  committee  of  the  whole,  —  to  wit,  that 
there  should  be  no  discrimination  between  original  creditors 
and  present  holders.  This  determination  took  place  against 
the  sentiments  of  our  friend  Madison,  who  no  doubt  must 
be  a  little  mortified  thereat,  as  he  labored  the  point  in  a 
most  masterly  manner,  and  appeared  to  have  it  much  at 
heart,  arid  I  must  own,  in  my  poor  opinion,  had  reason, 
justice,  and~ev£ry  sentiment  on  his  side,  which  ought  to 
have  acted  as  a  stimulus  to  have  induced  a  different  de 
cision.  Whether  he-will  come  forward  with  his  proposition 
for  discrimination  again  before  the  House  [I]  cannot  say, 
but  should  suppose  he  would  not,  as  the  majority  appeared 
large  against  him.  The  present  great  question  before  them 
is  whether  the  State  debts  shall  be  assumed  or  not.  Great 
diversity  of  opinion  prevails  on  this  subject,  and  I  fear  an 
improper  determination  wrill  take  place.  The  Eastern 
people  seem  to  be  determined,  unless  they  can  carry  the 
assumption  of  the  State  debts,  that  they  will  fund  none, 
and  it  appears  to  me  that  as  long  as  we  continue  to  sit  at 
this  place  we  most  assuredly  shall  have  whatever  they  con 
tend  for  imposed  upon  us,  be  it  right  or  wrong.  From  what 
I  can  learn  and  discover  respecting  the  State  claims  to  the 
East,  if  their  now  favorite  measure  is  adopted,  poor  little 
Delaware  will  have  saddled  upon  her  between  two  and  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  more  tharff|ker  former  supposed 
quota.  This  will  never  do  ;  but  how  to^help  it  is  the  ques 
tion.  Do  come  forward  and  lend  us  your  aid.  I  feel  my 
own  weakness  upon  subjects  of  this  kind  in  a  very  eminent 
degree,  and  therefore  want  your  aid.  Eastern  politics  and 
Eastern  men  will  prevail  in  our  government;  they  evidently 
begin  to  feel  their  own  weight  and  importance,  and  show  it 
in  every  step.  North  Carolina  has  come  forward  with  a 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  517 

curious  cession  of  western  territory,  and  annexed  thereto 
are  a  parcel  of  the  most  curious  and  extraordinary  con 
ditions  I  ever  beheld.  I  inclose  them  for  your  perusal. 
This  cession  I  opposed  with  all  my  might  in  Senate,  but  to 
little  purpose,  [and]  have  been  making  all  the  head  I  could 
against  it  with  the  members  of  the  other  branch,  but  with 
what  success  time  must  determine.  I  have  too  much  reason 
to  fear  the  same  interest  will  preponderate  there  that  did 
with  us.  Rhode  Island,  it  is  said,  will  not  come  in,  [and] 
that  there  is  a  majority  of  twelve  against  it.  The  Eastern 
men  here  are  exerting  all  possible  influence  to  bring  [her] 
in,  from  this  motive  principally  alone,  I  fear,  to  give  [them] 
a  clearer  decided  majority.  I  inclose  a  paper  or  two,  to 
which  I  refer  you  for  the  news  of  the  day.  For  God's  sake, 
come  along;  I  cannot  stay  here  much  longer  without  you. 
My  respects  to  Mrs.  Read  and  family. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  friend  and  humble 
servant, 

"RICHARD  BASSETT.* 

"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Mr.  Read  must  have  left  his  home  for  New  York  imme 
diately  after  the  receipt  of  the  foregoing  letter  of  his  col 
league,  for  it  appears  by  the  journal  of  the  Senate  (vol.  i. 
p.  118)  that  he  attended  on  the  8th  day  of  March,  and,  as 
appears  further  by  that  journal,  through  the  remaining  part 
of  the  session. 

Debt !  How  suggestive  is  this  word  at  this  day  of  im 
prudence,  folly,  crime,  ruin,  misery!  But  if  men  could 
never  incur  debt,  enterprise  must  fold  her  wings,  agricul 
ture,  commerce,  and  manufactures  languish,  and  national 
defence  sometimes  be  impossible.  The  debt  of  our  Revo 
lution  was  the  pric^^yiberty  and  independence.  It  was 
the  anticipation  of  fu^»  resources  when  present  means  of 
maintaining  the  wj^^ith  Great  Britain  were  exhausted. 

*  The  first  session  of  the  Second  Congress  began  24th  Oetober,  IT 91, 
and  ended  May  8th,  1792;  and  the  second  session  of  the  Second  Con 
gress  began  5th  November,  1792,  and  terminated  2d  March,  1793.  Mr. 
Read  was  present  at  the  commencement  and  during  the  whole  of  these 
sessions.  He  resigned  his  senatorship  Sept.,  1793. — Journal  of  United 
Stales  Senate,  vol.  i.  pp.  118,  21 G,  323,  444,  450,  501. 


518  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Peace  was  conquered  and  our  independence  was  acknowl 
edged,  but  this  debt  was  unpaid  because  its  payment  was 
impossible.  The  country,  where  it  had  been  the  theatre 
of  war,  was  wasted,  its  resources  everywhere  were  ex 
hausted,  industry  and  enterprise  were  paralyzed,  confidence 
of  men  in  each  other  was  almost  destroyed,  and  the  blight 
of  a  currency,  so  depreciated  as  to  be  worthless,  was  upon 
the  people.  The  power  to  fill  the  empty  national  treasury 
was  not  possessed  by  the  Continental  Congress,  for  its  means 
of  collecting  revenue  was  by  requisitions  upon  sovereign 
States,  which  could  only  be  enforced  by  war.  This  body 
had  fallen  into  universal  contempt.  A  peaceful  revolution 
delivered  the  United  States  from  the  Confederacy,  from 
which  no  relief  could  be  hoped,  and  gave  them  a  consti 
tution  with  the  powers  that  system  of  government  wanted. 
The  new  government  was  inaugurated,  its  measures  of  re 
cuperation  were  prompt  and  wise,  and  the  revival  of  hope, 
of  confidence,  enterprise,  and  industry  in  every  pursuit  was 
immediate.  The  success  of  the  new  government  being  no 
longer  doubtful,  its  ability  to  discharge  the  debt  of  the 
Revolution  at  no  distant  day  was  certain,  and  it  was  the 
duty  of  the  nation  therefore  to  adopt  the  necessary  measures 
to  pay  this  sacred  debt.  At  the  opening  of  the  second  ses 
sion  of  the  First  Congress  in  January,  1790,  Washington, 
while  he  recommended  the  use  of  all  proper  means  to  ad 
vance  agriculture,  commerce,  and  manufactures,  urged, 
above  all,  provision  to  maintain  the  public  credit.  The 
celebrated  report  of  Hamilton  was  made  January  15th,  by 
which  it  appeared  that  the  foreign  debt  of  the  United  States 
amounted  to  eleven  millions,  their  domestic  debt  to  forty- 
two,  and  that  of  the  States  to  twenty-five.  The  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  recommended  the  payment  of  the  debts  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts, 
both  to  be  secured  by  funding  them.  As  he  doubted  the 
ability  of  the  United  States  to  pay  the  interest  on  these 
debts,  according  to  the  terms  on  which  they  were  con 
tracted,  he  recommended  either  the  lowering  the  interest 
on  the  whole  debt,  or  the  postponement  of  payment  of.part 
of  it  to  a  future  time,  with  the  consent  of  the  creditors. 
He  also  recommended  the  partial  irredeemability  of  these 
debts.  This  matter  was  called  up  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  January  28th,  and  postponed  till  8th  February, 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  519 

when  it  was  taken  up  and  resolutions  offered  approbatory 
of  the  principles  of  the  report,  upon  which  an  animated  and 
protracted  debate  ensued.  The  opponents  of  the  treasury 
report  urged  the  evils  and  impolicy  of  the  funding  system, 
as  exemplified  in  history,  that  the  full  amount  of  the  cer 
tificates  ought  not  to  be  paid  because  the  public  had  not 
received  it,  and  the  holders  by  parting  with  them  at  a  less 
amount  had  fixed  their  value  and  declared  their  willing 
ness  to  sacrifice  the  difference  for  the  public  benefit,  and 
that  therefore  there  ought  to  be  a  settlement.  It  was  re 
plied  that  creditors  had  a  right  to  repose  trust  in  govern 
ment  for  the  discharge  of  their  debts,  as  settled  and  fixed 
by  their  certificates,  and  that  without  an  enormous  violation 
of  justice  and  sound  policy  these  ascertained  amounts  could 
not  be  diminished  by  the  Legislature.  Mr.  Madison  moved, 
unsuccessfully,  to  discriminate,  so  as  to  pay  to  holders  of 
certificates  their  highest  price  in  market  at  any  time,  and 
the  residue  to  the  original  creditors,  and  where  they  had 
not  assigned,  they  to  receive  the  whole  debt.  This  dis 
crimination  would  have  saved  nothing  to  the  public.  It 
was  opposed  by  assignees  of  certificates  and  by  honest  men, 
in  Congress  and  out  of  it,  who  believed  that  these  certifi 
cates,  being  assignable,  were  contracts  with  assignees  as 
much  as  with  original  holders,  and  that  honor  forbade  the 
violation  of  the  contracts  of  government  no  less  than  those 
of  individuals,  and  sound  policy,  for  the  assignability  of 
public  securities  was  essential  to  give  them  credit,  and  after 
so  flagrant  an  instance  of  bad  faith,  few  or  none  would  take 
them  as  assignees  thereafter. 

But  the  proposition  to  assume  the  State  debts  encoun 
tered  the  most  determined  opposition,  and  caused  great 
excitement  within  Congress,  and  throughout  the  Union, 
and  was  debated  with  much  ability  and  warmth. 

The  Revolutionary  war  had  been  waged  by  the  States, 
sometimes  separately,  at  others  conjointly,  sometimes  with 
the  funds  of  the  United  States,  and  sometimes  with  their 
own  means.  The  war  debt  was  therefore  incurred  partly 
by  the  Confederacy  and  partly  by  the  States,  and  when  the 
requisition  system  was  adopted  the  war  was  chiefly  main 
tained  by  State  agency.  The  making  good  to  the  army 
the  depreciation  of  their  pay  was  assumed  by  the  States, 
some  of  whom  had  funded  the  amount  assumed,  and  paid 


520  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  interest,  while  others  had  made  no  provision  for  it ;  but 
all  had  somewhat  reduced  the  principal  sum.  A  settlement 
of  the  accounts  of  the  States  with  the  Confederacy  was 
earnestly  wished,  but  small  progress  had  been  made  therein, 
for  it  was  beset  with  intricacies  and  obscurities.  These 
debts,  thus  unascertained,  it  was  proposed  the  United  States 
should  assume. 

The  assumption  was  opposed  because  it  would  give  the 
United  States  undue  and  dangerous  influence,  as  it  would 
take  to  them  almost  the  whole  power  of  taxation,  and  leave 
the  States  but  the  semblance  of  it;  because  it  was  uncon 
stitutional,*  there  being  no  grant  of  this  power,  and  of 
questionable  policy,  as  it  would  lay  on  the  Union  a  burden, 
of  unascertained  amount,  which  would  require  great  and 
imprudent  taxation,  and,  as  the  impost  and  excise  could 
not  produce  the  necessary  sum,  a  land-tax  would  be  un 
avoidable,  which  could  be  far  better  levied  by  the  States ; 
because  the  States  had  not  petitioned  for  this  measure,  and 
when  they  did  it  would  be  time  enough  to  entertain  it,  and 
many  of  them  were  decidedly  opposed  to  it ;  because  the 
only  assumption  should  be  of  balances  ascertained  ;  because 
the  State  debts  by  being  assumed  would  be  perpetuated, 
whereas  if  left  to  the  States  they  would  be  paid,  as  they 
were  in  the  course  of  being  by  many  of  them;  because  the 
proposed  assumption  would  so  increase  the  public  debt  as 
to  impair  the  public  credit,  for  all  stocks  lessened  in  value 
as  they  increased  in  quantity ;  because  the  funded  debt 
would  flow  to  the  cities,  into  the  hands  of  a  few  rich  mer 
chants,  or  be  bought  by  foreigners,  and  the  interest  of  the 
debt,  raised  by  onerous  taxation,  go  abroad  in  specie ;  be- 

*  "We  have  had  one  assumption  in  our  country,  and  that  in  a  case  which 
was  small  in  amount  and  free  from  the  impediment  of  a  constitutional 
objection,  for  the  debts  proposed  to  be  assumed  were  incurred  for  the 
general  good, — the  general  defence  during  the  Revolution, — but  which 
was  attended  by  such  evils  as  should  deter  posterity  from  imitating  the 
example.  It  was  in  the  first  year  of  the  Federal  government,  and,  al 
though  the  assumed  debts  were  only  twenty  millions,  and  were  alleged 
to  have  been  contracted  for  general  purposes,  yet  the  assumption  was 
attended  by  circumstances  of  intrigue  and  corruption  which  led  to  the 
most  violent  dissensions  in  Congress,  suspended  its  business  for  a 
season,  drove  some  of  the  States  to  the  verge  of  secession,  and  men 
aced  the  Union  with  instant  dissolution." — Bentorfs  Thirty  Years  in 
the  United  States  Senate,  vol.  ii,  pp.  173,  IT 4. 


OF  GEOEGE  READ.  521 

cause  it  would  be  unjust,  for  thereby  the  States  that  had 
taxed  themselves  most  to  pay  their  debts  would  be  taxed 
to  pay  the  debts  of  States  that  had  not ;  because  the 
settlement  of  the  accounts  of  the  States  and  United  States 
would  be  delayed,  if  not  prevented,  by  assumption,  and  in 
superable  difficulties  arise;  because  all  the  creditors  would 
not  change  the  security  of  their  debts,  nor  could  it  be  as 
certained  whether  they  had  been  incurred  for  general  or 
local  purposes.  These  were  the  principal  objections. 

In  support  of  assumption  it  was  urged  that  these  so-called 
State  debts  were  in  truth  debts  of  the  United  States,  having 
been  contracted  for  the  common  cause,  as  appeared  by  ex 
amination  of  public  records,  as  well  as  by  a  review  of  the 
origin  of  the  several  classes  of  these  debts.  True,  they 
were  contracted  by  the  States,  but  the  complex  nature  of 
the  American  political  system  made  it  necessary  to  levy 
money  to  carry  on  the  war,  by  their  agency,  since  they 
had  all  the  resources  of  the  country,  and  the  distribution 
of  the  debt  among  the  States  for  payment  was  necessary 
from  the  distribution  of  political  power  under  the  Confeder 
ation;  that  as  power  over  the  resources  of  the  country  was 
transferred  by  the  Constitution  from  the  States  to  the  gen 
eral  government,  the  so-called  State  debts  ought  to  be  as 
sumed  with  it;  that  the  assumption  was  not  the  creation 
of  a  new  debt,  but  only  the  reacknowledging  of  an  old  one; 
that  if  this  debt  (as  was  true)  had  only  been  transferred  to 
facilitate  its  payment,  being  in  its  origin  Continental,  there 
was  no  constitutional  objection  to  restoring  its  original 
character;  that  assumption  was  constitutional,  because 
Congress  possessed  the  power  to  levy  taxes  or  borrow 
money  to  pay  the  debts,  and  provide  for  the  common  de 
fence  and  welfare  of  the  Union,  and  these  debts  were  debts 
of  the  United  States,  incurred  for  their  defence,  and  the 
payment  of  them  would  be  for  their  welfare ;  that  if  Con 
gress  could  not  borrow  money  to  pay  the  debts  of  a  past 
war,  thqy  could  not  do  so  to  pay  the  debt  of  a  future  one ; 
that  if  the  Federal  government  should  pay  debts  admitted 
to  be  those  of  the  Union,  and  the  States  be  left  to  pay  those 
contracted  by  their  agency,  there  might  be  dangerous  or  at 
least  inconvenient  jealousy,  competition,  and  clashing  of 
jurisdiction  in  regard  to  subjects  over  which  their  power  to 

34 


522  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

tax  was  concurrent,  and  between  the  different  classes  of 
public  creditors ;  that  the  excise  would  be  more  profitable 
if  levied  by  the  general  government  than  by  thirteen  gov 
ernments;  that  if  the  debt  should  be  paid  by  the  States 
there  would  be  no  uniform  system  of  taxation  for  its  pay 
ment,  which  would  make  the  burden  unequal,  and,  as  the 
agents  would  be  more  numerous,  the  expense  would  be 
greater;  that  some  States  might  make  no  provision  for 
their  debts,  and  could  the  Union  leave  those  of  defaulting 
States  unsatisfied,  being  in  truth  the  debtor?  that  the  as 
sumption  would  not  delay,  but  facilitate,  the  settlement  of 
the  accounts  of  the  States,  for  its  advocates  desired  this 
settlement,  and  had  prepared  a  plan  for  it;  that  the  burden 
of  the  war  had  been  unequally  borne  by  the  States, — jus 
tice  therefore  demanded  that  it  should  be  equalized  by  an 
apportionment,  of  the  debt  thereby  incurred,  among  them 
all,  in  order  to  which  there  must  be  a  settlement  of  accounts 
between  them;  but,  with  such  settlement  or  without  it,  as 
sumption  was  indispensable,  for  debtor  States  could  not  be 
compelled  to  pay  the  balances  found  against  them ;  that 
assumption  would  quiet  the  anxious  public  debtors  and  put 
an  end  to  speculation,  so  rife,  and  so  much  denounced  by 
its  opponents ;  that  if  the  influence  of  the  general  govern 
ment  should  come  in  competition  with  that  of  the  States, 
the  latter  would  triumph,  because  the  ties  of  the  citizens  to 
their  States  were  more  numerous  and  stronger  than  those 
to  the  Federal  government,  and,  at  any  rate,  if  assumption 
would  dangerously  increase  the  influence  of  the  Union,  too 
much  was  proved,  and  the  power  of  the  purse  and  the 
sword  ought  to  have  been  left  by  the  Constitution  to  the 
States ;  that  if  the  expenses  of  the  Revolutionary  war  must 
be  borne  by  the  States,  the  expense  of  future  ones  should 
be  borne  by  them ;  that  if  assumption  might  lead  to  con 
solidation,  non-assumption  might  to  disunion ;  that  if  the 
amount  of  the  debts  proposed  to  be  assumed  was  unascer 
tained,  they  were  justly  due,  and  ought  to  be  paid,  and,  if 
never  exactly  ascertained,  such  an  approximation  might  be 
reached  as  would  be  sufficient ;  and,  if  the  public  resources 
were  not  equal  to  pay  all,  they  ought  to  be  equitably  ap 
portioned;  that  assumption  would  not  perpetuate  these 
debts,  because  the  general  government,  with  more  ability 
to  pay,  might  be  presumed  more  willing  to  do  so ;  that  the 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  '523 

question  was  not  whether  or  not  a  public  debt  was  a 
blessing,  but  how  to  dispose  of  one  existing, — should  it  be 
left  to  discredit  the  natfon  by  non-payment,  or  delay  of  it 
to  distress  the  unhappy  holders  of  it  by  hope  deferred,  and 
be  the  subject  of  ruinous  and  demoralizing  speculation,  or 
to  remove  these  evils  by  funding  it,  and  so  making  it  a  cir 
culating  medium  equal  in  value  to  gold  and  silver,  and  an 
increase  of  business  capital  much  needed,  and  so,  admitting 
public  debt  to  be  an  evil,  turning  it,  partially  at  least,  into 
a  blessing;  that  if  the  funded  debt  would  flow  into  cities, 
and  into  the  hands  of  merchants,  so  much  the  better,  for  it 
would  increase  their  capital  used  for  the  public  benefit; 
that  if  foreigners  should  buy  the  funded  debt,  they  would 
do  so  from  confidence  in  the  ability  and  willingness  of  the 
United  States  to  pay  it,  and  nothing  could  more  advance 
the  public  credit  (so  essential  to  the  public  welfare)  as  such 
a  manifestation  of  it,  and  they  would  pay  for  the  debt  gold 
and  silver;  that,  to  the  argument  that  it  would  be  unjust  to 
burden  States  who  had  exerted  themselves  to  the  uttermost 
to  pay  their  debts  with  the  debts  of  States  who  had  made 
no  such  exertion,  it  could  be  truly  replied  it  must  be  pre 
sumed  each  State  exerted  itself  to  its  utmost  power,  and, 
if  it  could  not  or  would  not  make  provision  for  creditors  to 
whom  the  Union. was  equitably  bound,  the  argument  for 
assumption  was  stronger;  that  the  irredeemability  of  the 
debt,  except  as  was  proposed,  was  necessary  to  give  it  value, 
and  as  to  the  objection  that  it  was  unwise  for  government 
to  tie  up  its  hands  from  paying  it  whenever  able  to  do  so, 
it  was  replied  that  it  would  probably  not  be  able  to  redeem 
sooner  than  the  bill  provided,  nor  even  pay  six  per  cent, 
interest  upon  the  whole  debt,  nor  even,  if  it  could,  would  it 
be  wise  to  pledge  all  its  means  for  these  purposes,  for  con 
tingent  expenses  were  unavoidable ;  that  there  was  no  per 
manent  provision  for  the  payment  of  interest  on  the  public 
debt  and  for  its  gradual  extinguishment,  and  therefore  the 
provisions  of  this  bill  were  preferable  to  the  bare  obligation 
to  do  both,  which  was  all  the  creditors  had  to  trust  to, — and 
where  was  the  injustice  of  proposing  an  arrangement,  vol 
untary  on  their  part,  by  which  they  and  the  government 
would  both  be  benefited,  the  one  with  time,  the  other  with 
certain  though  delayed  payment  of  principal,  and  partial 
present  and  eventual  full  payment  of  interest  ?  that  if  the 


524  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

irredeemability  of  the  debt  were  taken  away,  there  was  no 
probability  that  it  would  be  sooner  paid,  and  it  would  re 
main  fluctuating  in  value  and  the  subject  of  demoralizing 
speculation,  instead  of  a  safe  mode  of  investing  money, — 
making  it  equal  to  gold  and  silver,  and  so  an  increase  of 
capital,  which  was  so  much  needed, — and,  until  the  funded 
debt  rose  above  par,  the  United  States,  though  restricted 
by  the  resolution,  could  profitably  go  into  market  and  pur 
chase  the  stock,  so  that  the  evil  of  debt  would  not  probably 
be  prolonged  by  this  proposed  measure,  as  there  was  no 
probability  of  an  excess  in  the  treasury  more  than  enough 
to  buy  stock  at  and  below  par.  And  in  reply  to  the  ques 
tion,  what,  then,  was  the  use  of  irredeemability?  the  answer 
was  that  it  was  necessary  to  give  value  to  the  stock  pro 
posed  to  be  created. 

The  arguments  for  these  resolutions,  it  appears  to  me, 
preponderate  over  those  against  them.  They  were  adopted 
in  the  House  of  Representatives  by  a  majority  of  two  votes, 
the  State  debts  being  assumed  to  the  amount  of  twenty-five 
millions  of  dollars.  Soon  after,  the  members  from  North 
Carolina  took  their  seats,  which  changed  the  majority  to 
two  against  the  resolution  for  assumption,  which  was 
reconsidered  and  rejected ;  and  several  efforts  to  reconsider 
this  vote  having  failed,  the  bill  "  making  provision  for  the 
debt  of  the  United  States"  was  passed  without  the  provision 
for  the  assumption  of  the  State  debts,  and  sent  to  the  Senate. 
The  assumption  was,  apparently,  defeated  irretrievably, 
when  its  friends  availed  themselves  of  the  unsettled  ques 
tion,  "  Where  should  be  the  permanent  seat  of  the  Federal 
government,"  to  effect  an  understanding,  which  secured 
its  adoption.  This  question  had  long  agitated  and  divided 
the  Continental  Congress,  and  excited  no  little  feeling 
throughout  the  States.  The  Eastern  States  would  gladly 
have  retained  the  seat  of  government  of  the  Union  in  New 
York,  but  it  was  so  far  from  the  centre  that  this  could  not 
be  accomplished.  The  Middle  States  desired  Philadelphia, 
or  some  other  point  between  the  Delaware  and  the  Po 
tomac;  while  the  South  preferred  the  location  of  the  Federal 
city  permanently  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac.  The  under 
standing  was  that  the  capital  of  the  Union  should  be  for  ten 
years  at  Philadelphia  and  permanently  upon  the  Potomac, 
and  the  State  debts  should  be  assumed  by  the  United 


OF  GEORGE  EEAD.  525 

States/5'  The  bill  fixing  the  temporary  and  permanent  loca 
tion  of  the  United  States  government  then  passed  the  Senate, 
Mr.  Read  voting  for  it  (Journals  of  the  Senate,  vol.  i.p.  172),f 
and  the  bill  providing  for  the  United  States  debt,  pending 
in  the  Senate,  with  an  amendment  that  the  State  debts 
should  be  assumed  to  the  amount  of  twenty-one  millions 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars,  apportioned  in  specified  sums 
to  the  States,  so  that  each  would  receive  what  it  would  have 
to  pay,  and  thus  amended  passed  the  House  by  a  majority  of 
six  votes.  Thus  by  the  almost  simultaneous  passage  of  the 
bills  the  differing  sections  of  the  Union  obtained  measures 
they  desired,  and  were  reconciled  to  the  adoption  of  those  they 
disliked. J  The  beneficial  results  of  this  bill  providing  for 


*  This  compromise  was  devised  by  Hamilton,  and  effected  by  his 
influence  and  that  of  Robert  Morris,  exerted  over  members  of  Congress 
of  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States,  and  that  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  brought  to 
bear  upon  Southern  members  of  that  body,  on  Hamilton's  suggestion. — 
Jefferson's  Works,  vol.  ix.  p.  93. 

Jefferson,  who  looked  (knowing  his  monarchical  predilection)  upon 
Hamilton's  financial  measures  with  a  jaundiced  eye,  soon  repented  of 
the  aid  he  had  thus  lent,  and  stigmatized  this  compromise  "  as  a  fiscal 
manoeuvre,  to  aid  which  he  had  been  entrapped  by  a  finesse  of  Hamil 
ton"  (Irving's  Life  of  Washington,  pp.  66,  67);  but  surely  it  was  the 
happy  thought  of  this  great  statesman  to  accomplish  a  just  measure, 
the  defeat  of  which  might  have  dissevered  the  States,  held  together, 
in  the  infancy  of  the  central  government  just  inaugurated,  by  feeble 
ties. 

Hamilton  disavowed  the  design  imputed  to  him  by  his  rival  "of  intro 
ducing  aristocracy  or  monarchy  by  the  influence  of  a  government  con 
tinually  changing  hands ;"  urging,  I  think  truly,  "  that  more  than  a  life 
time  would  «be  insufficient  thus  to  accomplish  this  end,  and  therefore 
neither  ambition,  interest,  nor  other  selfish  motive  could  prompt  him  to 
attempt  it."  Besides,  the  people  were  so  little  disposed  to  such  change 
that  no  sane  man  could  think  it  feasible. 

f  The  Senate  proceeded  to  the  third  reading  of  this  bill,  July  21st, 
1790,  when  it  passed  as  amended. 

Yeas — Butler,  Carroll,  Dalton,  Ellsworth,  Elmer,  Johnson,  Izard, 
King,  Langdon,  Morris,  Patterson,  Read,  Schuyler,  and  Strong — 14. 

Nays — Bassett,  Few,  Foster,  Gunn,  Hawkins,  Henry,  Johnston, 
Lee,  Maclay,  Stanton,  Walker,  and  Wingate — 12. — Journals  of  United 
States  Senate,  vol.  i.  p.  187. 

The  States  of  New  York,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey, 
and  South  Carolina  were  in  favor  of  assumption  ;  and  Maryland,  Dela 
ware,  and  Pennsylvania  divided ;  while  Virginia,  Rhode  Island,  North 
Carolina,  and  Georgia  were  opposed  to  it.  Massachusetts,  Connecticut, 
and  South  Carolina  owed  more  than  half  the  total  of  the  State  debts. 

|  Writings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  152-154. 


526  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  United  States  debt  were  so  sudden  and  so  great  as  to 
demonstrate  its  wisdom  and  to  restore  in  no  long  time 
public  harmony. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  12th  day  of  August,  1790. 

It  had  been  the  practice  when  a  manor  was  surveyed 
for  the  proprietaries  of  Pennsylvania  to  permit  the  sur 
veyor,  as  a  compensation  for  his  services,  to  lay  off  a  par 
ticular  tract  for  himself,  for  which  he  paid  a  much  less  price 
than  that  required  for  the  remaining  ones.  General  Thomp 
son  had  surveyed  a  manor  in  Westmoreland  County,  Penn 
sylvania,  for  the  Penns,  and,  as  was  customary,  laid  off  a 
tract  for  himself,  which  he  understood  he  was  to  receive 
without  payment ;  but  his  attention  having  been,  to  his 
great  loss  in  this  and  in  other  cases,  diverted  from  his  pri 
vate  business  by  his  devotion  to  the  public  service,  he  died 
without  having  obtained  a  title  to  this  tract.  His  widow 
was  now  about  applying  for  it.  All  which  appears  by  the 
following  letters : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  23d  September,  1790. 

"  DEAR  BROTHER, — I  was  with  Mrs.  Thompson  yesterday 
when  she  saw  Mr.  Physick,  who,  on  reading  your  letter, 
assured  her  he  was  disposed  to  render  her  any  services  that 
might  be  in  his  power  relative  to  the  business  mentioned  in 
it.  He  said  his  correspondence  now  was  with  the  younger 
Mr.  John  Penn,  to  whom  he  would  write  concerning  it,  and 
transmit  a  copy  of  Mrs.  Thompson's  letter,  with  a- copy  of 
yours  to  him. 

"  He  advised  her  to  see  Mr.  Anthony  Butler,  who  is  now 
the  agent  of  the  older  Mr.  Penn  here.  We  accordingly  saw 
Mr.  Butler,  to  whom  I  made  known  the  nature  of  Mrs. 
Thompson's  claim  and  expectations.  He  said  he  had 
become  acquainted  with  the  circumstances  relative  to  that 
business.  He  said  it  had  always  been  the  practice  when  a 
manor  was  surveyed  for  the  person  who  did  it  to  mark  a 
particular  tract,  which  he  generally  got  for  a  price  consider 
ably  less  than  the  remaining  tracts  were  valued  at,  and  he 
could  have  no  doubt  but  the  one  in  question  would  be 
granted  to  Mrs.  Thompson  on  very  moderate  terms.  With 
respect  to  the  expectation  of  its  being  given  as  a  gratuity, 
he  could  only  observe  that  Mr.  Penn,  having  been  stripped 
of  so  much  of  his  property  in  this  country,  had  it  not  now 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  527 

in  his  power  to  do  those  acts  of  generosity  which  his  dispo 
sition  would  incite  him  to ;  but  if  she  desired  it,  he  would 
write  to  Mr.  Penn,  and  inclose  a  duplicate  of  her  letter,  with 
any  other  paper  that  might  be  deemed  necessary  or  proper, 
and  do  her  any  other  service  respecting  it  which  would 
consist  with  his  situation,  as  he  knew  Mr.  Penn  had  enter 
tained  a  favorable  opinion  of  General  Thompson's  services 
and  attachment  to  him  and  his  family.  You  will  therefore 
let  me  know  if  you  think  it  proper  Mrs.  Thompson  should 
accept  Mr.  Butler's  offer  of  services  in  this  business,  and  if 
so,  whether  a  copy  of  your  letter  to  Mr.  Physick  may  be 
given  him  to  inclose  with  his  own  and  Mrs.  Thompson's 
letter  to  Mr.  Penn.  I  have  made  a  duplicate  of  her  letter, 
which  she  has  signed,  and  a  copy  of  yours  to  Mr.  Physick, 
to  be  given  to  Mr.  Butler  in  case  you  should  think  the 
measure  a  right  one.  I  have  only  to  add  that  from  my 
knowledge  of  Mr.  Butler  I  entertain  a  favorable  opinion  of 
his  candor  and  integrity.  Both  Mr.  Physick  and  Mr. 
Butler  proposed  writing  by  the  next  packet,  which  will  sail 
in  about  eight  or  ten  days. 

"  My  family  desire  to  be  affectionately  remembered  to 
yours  and  our  other  friends  in  your  neighborhood. 
"Yours  very  affectionately, 

"JAMES  HEAD. 

"GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

Mrs.  Thompson  had  addressed  the  letter  next  inserted  to 
John  Penn  from 

"PiTTSBURG,  September  6th,  1790. 

"  SIR, — In  the  year  1780  my  late  husband,  General 
Thompson,  obtained  of  you  a  grant  of  five  hundred  acres 
of  land,  situate  in  the  manor  of  Denmark,  in  Westmoreland 
County  [Pennsylvania],  which  I  understood  from  him  was 
intended  as  a  present,  though  the  terms  set  down  in  the 
grant  were  that  he  should  have  the  preference  in  pur 
chasing. 

"  I  am  informed  that  Mr.  Woods,  your  agent,  has  laid  off 
that  manor  into  different  tracts  (a  copy  of  which  [plot], 
with  the  lines  of  this  tract,  is  inclosed),  and  has  fixed  on 
them  prices,  and,  among  others,  has  set  a  sum  per  acre  on 
the  tract  I  have  mentioned ;  but  of  this  I  have  not  had  any 


528  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

notice  from  him.  I  am  anxious  to  know  your  intentions 
upon  this  subject,  and  whether  I  am  to  be  charged  or  not, 
and  have  therefore  taken  the  liberty  of  addressing  you.  I 
would  consider  it  as  a  particular  favor  to  hear  from  you. 
If  the  land  was  intended  as  a  present,  I  wish  the  deed  to 
be  made  to  my  son,  William  Allen  Thompson ;  if  it  was 
not,  I  would  be  glad  to  know  as  soon  as  convenient,  that  I 
might  prepare  for  the  payment  of  the  purchase-money.  An 
answer  to  this  [letter],  directed  to  the  care  of  Mr.  James 
Biddle,  Philadelphia,  or  Mr.  George  Read,  New  Castle,  will 
be  gratefully  accepted  by  your  obedient  servant, 

"  CATHARINE  THOMPSON. 
"  Honorable  JOHN  PENN." 

The  foregoing  letter  was  inclosed  in  one  written  by  Mrs. 
Thompson  to  Mr.  Read. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — The  inclosed  letter  to  Mr.  Penn  is  on  a 
subject  of  importance  to  me.  Mr.  Thompson  had  obtained 
from  Mr.  Penn  a  tract  of  land  in  one  of  his  manors  in  Penn 
sylvania,  which  I  understood  to  be  a  present,  but  had  not 
got  a  conveyance.  Since  Mr.  Thompson's  death,  Mr.  Penn's 
agents  have  laid  off  this  manor  into  different  surveys  and 
fixed  prices  on  them,  and  on  this  one  among  others.  I  wish 
Mr.  Penn  to  be  informed  of  this,  and  prefer  applying  to 
him  rather  than  to  his  agents.  I  must  request  the  favor 
of  you  to  deliver  the  inclosed  [letter]  to  Mr.  Chew,  or  any 
other  of  Mr.  Penn's  friends  who  will  take  the  trouble  of 
transmitting  it  to  him,  if  he  is  yet  in  England,  which  I  sup 
pose  he  is.  When  he  is  acquainted  with  the  circumstances, 
I  flatter  myself  he  will  give  a  deed  without  requiring  pay 
ment  of  the  sum  at  which  the  land  is  valued. 
"  I  am  yours  affectionately, 

"  CATHARINE  THOMPSON.* 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 

The  third  session  of  Congress  commenced  in  Philadel 
phia,  December  6th,  1790.f 


*  Of  the  result  of  Mrs.  Thompson's  application  I  am  ignorant, 
f  See  Appendix  D. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  529 

Mr.  Read  attended  in  the  United  States  Senate,  Decem 
ber  8th,  and  through  the  rest  of  the  session. 

The  President,  in  his  message,  congratulated  Congress 
on  the  prosperous  state  of  public  affairs,  but  not  without 
the  expression  of  some  degree  of  anxiety  for  the  future. 
The  clouds  of  war  were  gathering  over  Europe,  and,  if  hos 
tilities  should  become  general  there,  they  must  operate  un 
favorably  upon  the  revived  agriculture  and  commerce,  and 
the  restored  credit  of  the  United  States.*  The  western 
frontier  was  desolated  by  the  cruel  warfare  of  the  Indian 
tribes, — an  expedition  against  them  had  been  only  partially 
successful,  and  the  general  government  was  invoked  to  pro 
tect  its  frontier  citizens  from  the  savage  foe. 

The  prominent  measures  of  this  session  were  the  act  of 
Congress  imposing  a  further  duty  on  foreign  spirits,  and  a 
duty  on  spirits  distilled  within  the  United  States,  and  the 
act  chartering  the  United  States  Bank. 

The  State  debts  had  been  (a  small  part  excepted)  as 
sumed  at  the  last  session,  but  Congress  had  adjourned  with 
out  providing  means  for  payment  of  interest  upon  them.  The 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  directed  to  report  the  further 
measures  needed  to  establish  public  credit.  He  now  recom 
mended  a  further  duty  on  foreign  spirits,  and  a  duty  on 
spirits  distilled  within  the  United  States,  and  a  bill  con 
forming  was  reported;  it  encountered  violent  opposition. 
Its  opponents  alleged  that  it  did  not  appear  that  existing 
taxes  were  insufficient  to  pay  this  interest;  that  it  was  the 
odious  excise  in  truth,  exposing  the  houses  of  citizens,  their 
castles,  to  the  inquisitorial  visits  of  tax-gatherers;  that 
the  assumption  being  unpopular  in  the  South  and  West, 
this  tax  to  pay  its  interest  would  be  there  equally  so ;  that 
it  would  be  unequal,  falling  mainly  on  the  western  section 
of  the  Union,  and  that  popular  insurrection  against  it  would 
be  certain. 

It  was  replied  that  the  insufficiency  of  the  existing  taxes 
for  the  additional  burden,  proposed  to  be  provided  for,  was 
shown  by  the  estimates  of  the  treasury  officers,  carefully 
prepared,  and  if  there  should  be  excess  in  the  product  of 

*  "Raised,"  writes  Mr.  Jefferson,  20th  June,  1790,  "to  be  the  first 
on  the  exchange  at  Amsterdam,  where  our  paper  is  above  par/' — Writ 
ings  of  Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  iii.  p.  152. 


530  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

this  duty  over  the  interest  it  was  to  pay  (which  was 
highly  improbable),  this  excess  could  be  advantageously 
applied  to  the  redemption  of  the  public  debt;  that  it 
would  be  highly  impolitic  to  increase  the  impost,  for  com 
merce  was  already  burdened  as  much  as  it  could  bear, 
and  an  increase  of  duties  upon  it  would  not  increase  rev 
enue,  for  it  would  diminish  imports  and  increase  smuggling; 
that  it  was  wise  to  increase  the  subjects  of  taxation ;  that 
the  proposed  duty  was  preferable  to  a  direct  tax,  because 
less  burdensome,  being  more  diffused ;  that  a  direct  tax 
would  be  difficult  to  raise,  for  no  census  had  been  taken, 
arid,  the  country  being  sparsely  settled,  its  collection  would 
be  most  expensive  and  tedious,  and  it  would  be  more  un 
popular  than  the  duty  on  domestic  spirits ;  that  direct 
taxation  was  the  chief  resource  of  the  nation  in  emergen 
cies,  and  ought  to  be  reserved  for  them  intact ;  that  indi 
rect  taxation  was  always  preferable  to  direct,  because  paid 
generally  without  consciousness  of  it,  and  so  without  reluc 
tance  and  ill  feeling  to  government,  being,  like  the  insensible 
perspiration  or  exhalations  from  the  earth,  of  such  tenuity 
as  to  be  invisible ;  that  a  like  duty  had  already  been  levied 
in  several  States  without  dissatisfaction ;  that  the  substi 
tutes  suggested  for  this  duty,  taxes  on  salaries,  or  pensions, 
or  lawyers,  or  legal  instruments,  or  by  a  stamp-act,  were 
more  objectionable  than  it  was ;  and  finally,  that  it  was  not 
excise,  for  it  would  be  levied  not  on  spirits  in  the  hands  of 
the  retailer  or  consumer,  but  in  the  manufactory. 

The  bill  imposing  duties  on  foreign  and  domestic  spirits, 
having  passed  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  it  ori 
ginated,  was  passed  by  the  Senate,  amended,  12th  Feb 
ruary,  by  the  vote  of  twenty  yeas  to  five  nays,  Mr.  Read 
voting  for  it. — (Journals  of  the  Senate,  vol.  i.  p.  263.) 

The  bill  to  incorporate  the  subscribers  to  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  reported  3d  January,  1791,  by  a  com 
mittee  of  the  United  States  Senate,  appointed  to  consider 
and  report  upon  the  Treasury  plan  of  a  national  bank,  and 
was  the  subject  of  earnest  and  able  debate,  in  that  body, 
until  the  twentieth  of  that  month. 

It  was  urged  by  the  opponents  of  this  bill  that  the  gen 
eral  utility  of  the  banking  system  was  questionable,  and 
features  of  this  bill  objectionable :  but  it  was  chiefly  as 
sailed  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality.  The  power  to 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  531 

charter  a  bank  was  not  conferred  by  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States,  nor  could  it  be  fairly  implied  from  any  of 
the  powers  therein  granted,  certainly  not  from  the  power 
to  pass  all  laws  necessary  and  proper  to  execute  the  granted 
powers,  for  those  only  were  intended  without  which  the 
granted  powers  could  not  be  executed  at  all,  which  was  not 
pretended  as  to  a  bank.  It  was  further  alleged  that  a  pro 
position  to  give  Congress  power  to  charter  banks  was  before 
the  convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  not  adopted. 

The  advocates  of  the  bank  replied  that  the  advantages 
of  the  banking  system  had  been  shown  by  the  experience 
of  the  greatest  commercial  nations,  and,  though  by  a  briefer 
experience,  in  the  United  States.  The  power  to  charter  a 
bank  was  not,  it  must  be  admitted,  expressly  granted  in 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States ;  but  implied  as  well 
as  expressed  powers  must  be  vested  in  every  government, 
for  without  the  former  its  administration  would  be  imper 
fect  or  impracticable.  That  when  a  power  was  conferred 
to  accomplish  an  object,  incident  to  it  must  be  the  right  to 
use  all  proper  means  commonly  employed  to  effect  it,  and  all 
doubt  was  removed  from  the  subject  by  the  power  expressly 
given  to  Congress  to  pass  all  laws  "  necessary  and  proper  to 
execute  the  granted  powers."  A  bank  was  shown  to  be 
necessary  to  enable  Congress,  in  the  best  manner,  and  some 
times  in  any  manner,  to  execute  the  high  trusts  of  regulating 
commerce  and  raising  revenue  to  pay  the  debts  and  provide 
for  the  defence  and  general  welfare  of  the  republic.  If  the 
provision  conferring  the  power  to  incorporate  a  bank  was 
proposed  and  not  adopted,  as  asserted,  by  the  convention 
which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  it  was 
because  this  body  thought  it  superfluous,  inasmuch  as 
whenever  necessary  to  the  exercise  of  any  granted  power, 
it  passed,  as  incident  to  it. 

The  bill  incorporating  the  subscribers  to  the  Bank  of  the 
United  States  was  passed  January  24th.  by  18  yeas  to  5 
nays,  Mr.  Read  voting  for  the  bill,  and  sent  to  the  House 
of  Representatives  for  concurrence.* 

In  conformity  with  the  usage  of  the  Continental  Congress 
and  of  the  convention  which  framed  the  Constitution  of  the 

*  Journals  of  the  United  States  Senate,  vol.  i.  p.  234. 


532  LIFE   AND    COREESPONDENGE 

United  States,  the  Senate  sat  with  closed  doors,  not  only 
when  occupied  with  executive  business,  but  when  acting  in 
their  legislative  capacity.  On  the  24th  of  February,  1791, 
Mr.  Monroe  moved  that  when  the  Senate  should  be  sitting 
in  their  legislative  capacity,  their  doors  should  be  open, 
except  when  secrecy  might  be  required.  His  motion  was 
considered  on  the  25th  and  rejected, — 17  nays  to  9  yeas 
(Journals  of  the  United  States  Senate,  vol.  i.  pp.  280,  281, 
286,  287),*  Mr.  Head  voting  in  the  negative. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  3d  day  of  March,  1791 ;  but 
Mr.  Read  was  detained  for  some  days  after  by  an  executive 
business  session  of  the  Senate,  called  chiefly  to  pass  upon 
nominations  to  the  army  offices,  made  necessary  by  the 
increase  of  the  regular  military  force. 

Independently  of  its  connection  with  the  subject  of  this 

*  On  the  26th  of  March,  1792,  at  the  next  session  of  the  Senate,  a 
similar  resolution  was  moved  and  rejected,  Mr.  Read  voting  against  it; 
and  again,  3d  February,  1793,  Mr.  Read  being  in  the  negative, — ayes 
7,  nays  18  (Senate  Journal,  vol.  i.  pp.  415,  478).  But  the  perseverance 
of  the  friends  of  this  resolution  at  last  carried  it,  16th  January,  1794, 
by  the  vote  of  18  yeas  to  9  nays  (Ibid.,  vol.  ii.  p.  34).  It  was  urged 
by  the  advocates  of  this  resolution  that  Senators  were  responsible  to 
their  constituents  for  their  conduct ;  and  the  information  necessary  to 
truly  estimate  it  could  not  justly  be  withheld;  and  the  journals  did  not 
and  could  not  afford  it ;  that  the  journals  were  in  the  power  of  the 
Senate;  that  the  publicity  of  their  proceedings  is  the  best  mode  of 
diffusing  information  as  to  the  principles,  motives,  and  conduct  of  Sen 
ators ;  and  by  withholding  the  information,  responsibility  is  in  truth 
removed  and  the  influence  of  the  people  over  one  branch  of  the  legisla 
ture  annihilated,  and  the  very  best  security  experience  had  devised 
against  neglect  of  duty  or  maladministration  of  power  abandoned  (Sen 
ate  Journals,  vol.  ii.  p.  478).  These  reasons  seem  to  me  so  conclusive 
against  the  usage  of  sitting  with  closed  doors  when  engaged  in  legis 
lative  business,  that  I  wonder  the  Senate  clung  to  it  so  long,  and  it  may 
be  well  regretted  that  they  did,  because  this  obstinate  adherence  to  an  ill 
practice  has  deprived  us  of  their  debates  at  a  period  when  they  were 
especially  valuable ;  and  their  value  was  increased  by  the  very  circum 
stance  which  has  deprived  us  of  them,  for  the  occlusion  of  the  public 
from  their  sittings  occluded  the  temptation  "  to  speak  for  effect  merely," 
with  its  concomitants, — appeals  to  popular  prejudice,  sophistry,  and  the 
tinsel  and  embroidery  of  a  meretricious  rhetoric.* 


*  But,  writes  a  recent  historian,  a  So  little  interest  was  evinced  in  senatorial 
proceedings,  and  so  seldom  were  they  enlivened  by  elaborate  discussions,  that  for 
many  years  the  galleries  of  the  Senate-chamber,  when  opened  to  the  public, 
were  little  resorted  to,  and  no  reports  exist  of  senatorial  debates,  except  upon 
two  or  three  special  occasions." — Hildreth's  History  of  the  United  States,  vol  i. 
p.  450. 


OF  OEOEGE  READ.  533 

biography,  the  following  letter  seems  to  be  worthy  of 
preservation  from  its  notice,  brief  though  it  is,  of  the  infant 
population  in  the  territory  south  of  the  river  Ohio,  the 
healthy  germ  of  the  great  communities  into  which  it  has 
since  expanded,  and  as  giving  the  outlines  of  a  judgeship  in 
a  frontier  region,  which  the  imagination  readily  and  as  truly 
fills  up  into  a  picture  strangely  in  contrast  to  the  circum 
stances  of  the  judicial  station  in  densely  peopled  countries: 

"  TERRITORY  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  SOUTH  oi  THE  OHIO, 

"WASHINGTON  DISTRICT,  20th  September,  1791. 

"SiR, — Your  candor  and  friendship  to  me  will  always 
claim  my  grateful  acknowledgments ;  and,  considering  my 
self  under  obligations  to  you,  I  hold  myself  bound  to  make 
such  communications  respecting  my  standing  in  this  country 
as  are  founded  in  candor  and  warranted  by  fact.  I  arrived 
in  this  country  some  time  previous  to  any  court  being  held 
in  this  district,  after  I  received  my  appointment.  Our 
court  was  held  at  Jonesborough,  the  10th  day  of  August, 
and  continued  for  ten  days,  during  which  period  I  had  the 
good  fortune  to  impress  the  bar  and  people  with  favorable 
sentiments,  of  which,  for  particular  reasons  and  your  satis 
faction,  I,  though  very  reluctantly,  think  proper  to  make 
you  acquainted.  This,  however,  is  for  your  own  eye,  [for] 
it  is  a  species  of  vanity.  I  dare  not  venture  beyond  the 
limits  of  your  candor  and  benevolence. 

"  This  district  or  territory  is  divided  into  two  districts, 
the  upper  called  Washington,  the  lower  Cumberland.  There 
are  two  courts  a  year  held  in  each.  The  places  of  holding 
the  courts  in  the  respective  districts  are  about  three  hun 
dred  miles  apart,  with  a  vast  wilderness  between,  much 
infested  with  hostile  Indians,  which  renders  the  passing  it 
very  dangerous.  The  judges,  however,  are  necessitated  to 
pass  it  four  times  a  year.  One  hundred  and  forty  miles  of 
it  is  entirely  without  inhabitants.  The  people  of  this 
country  appear  well  disposed ;  they  do  not,  as  in  most  new 
countries,  seem  inclined  to  drink,  [but],  with  very  few 
exceptions,  sober  and  orderly,  and  so  far  as  I  have  been 
able  to  make  observations,  a  regard  for  the  government  and 
respect  for  the  law  seem  to  pervade  the  whole  territory. 

"  If  aught  in  this  letter  should  seem  exceptionable,  I 
must  crave  your  forgiveness. 


534  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"I  am,  sir,  with  sentiments  of  great  respect,  your  very 
obedient  servant, 

"JOSEPH  ANDERSON. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  Senator  in  the  U.  S. 
Congress,  corner  of  Fifth  and  Market  Streets,  Philadelphia. 
Honored  by  Mr.  Sevier." 

Judge  Anderson  served  with  credit,  during  the  war  of 
our  Revolution,  in  the  Jersey  line,  I  believe;  was  a  member, 
and  a  leading  one,  of  the  United  States  Senate,  from  the 
State  of  Tennessee,  for  a  long  period, — seventeen  winters, 
as  I  think  he  informed  me;  and  afterwards  for  many  years 
first  comptroller  of  the  United  States  Treasury.  He  was  a 
man  of  great  worth,  very  polished  manners,  and  of  con 
siderable  address,  as  I  have  heard,  and  as  was  apparent, 
when,  on  his  request,  in  1832,  I  was  introduced  to  him,  at 
an  age  protracted  beyond  the  ordinary  terminus  of  human 
existence.  Neither  age  nor  the  lapse  of  near  half  a  cen 
tury  had  chilled  his  gratitude  to  Mr.  Read  for  his  influence, 
exerted  in  the  United  States  Senate,  in  favor  of  his  nomina 
tion  to  Ms  judgeship,  which,  I  inferred,  met  some  opposi 
tion.  It  would-be  cynical  to  ascribe  his  certainly  self-com- 
placent  mention  of  his  debut  as  a  judge  to  anything  but  a 
commendable  anxiety  to  satisfy  Mr.  Read  that  he  had  not 
proved  unworthy  of  his  support  and  vote.  He  was  a  com 
municant  in  one  of  the  religious  societies  in  Washington, 
and,  I  believe,  a  truly  pious  man. 

Congress  met  in  Philadelphia,  24th  October,  1791,  and 
Mr.  Read  attended  on  that  day,  and  throughout  this,  the 
first  session  of  the  Second  Congress. 

The  most  important  acts  of  this  session  were  two :  one 
for  apportioning  representatives  among  the  States,  the  other 
for  the  increase  of  the  army. 

The  Constitution  of  the  United  States  provided  that  rep 
resentation  and  taxation  should  be  apportioned  among  the 
States  according  to  their  respective  numbers,  and  that  the 
number  of  representatives  should  not  exceed  one  for  every 
thirty  thousand,  but  each  State  should  have  at  least  one 
representative.  A  bill  was  introduced  into  the  House,  which 
gave  to  each  State  one  member  for  every  thirty  thousand 
persons,  and  was  passed,  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  No 
vember  24th,  where  it  was  passed  with  the  amendment 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  535 

giving  to  each  State  one  representative  for  every  thirty- 
three  thousand  persons,  Mr.  Read  voting  for  it  (Journals 
of  the  Senate,  vol.  i.  pp.  354,  408).  The  ground  of  this 
amendment  was  the  great  amount  and  inequality  of  unrep 
resented  fractions  which  resulted  from  the  ratio  proposed 
by  the  House,  operating  hardly  upon  the  small  States, 
where  these  fractions  could  not  be  distributed  among 
several  members.  This  amendment  was  non-concurred  in 
by  the  House,  and  the  bill  failed.  A  bill  substantially  the 
same  as  this,  without  the  amendment,  then  passed  the 
House,  was  sent  to  the  Senate,  and  amended  by  that  body, 
thus :  applying  thirty  thousand,  as  a  divisor,  to  the  total 
of  population  of  the  United  States,  and  taking  the  quotient 
(one  hundred  and  twenty)  as  the  number  given  by  the  ratio 
adopted  by  the  House,  they  apportioned  this  number,  by 
this  ratio,  among  the  States  (according  to  their  population) 
until  as  many  representatives  as  it  would  give  were  allotted 
to  each.  The  residuary  members  were  then  distributed 
among  the  States  having  the  highest  fractions,  thus  giving 
a  more  equitable  apportionment  of  representation  to  popu 
lation  than  the  original  bill,  and  making  it  more  accord 
with  the  prevalent  wish  in  Congress,  and  outside  of  it,  that 
the  House  should  consist  of  as  many  members  as  the  Con 
stitution  would  permit.  The  House  concurred  in  this 
amendment,  but  the  President  vetoed  this  bill,  because  the 
Constitution  required  that  representatives  should  be  appor 
tioned  among  the  States  according  to  their  respective  num 
bers,  and  there  was  no  proportion  or  divisor  which,  applied 
to  the  respective  numbers  of  the  States,  would  yield  the 
number  of  representatives  provided  by  this  bill ;  and,  sec 
ondly,  because  the  Constitution  provided  that  the  represen 
tatives  should  not  exceed  one  for  every  thirty  thousand 
persons,  which  restriction  applied  to  the  separate  and 
respective  numbers  of  the  States,  and  the  bill  allotted  to 
eight  States  more  than  one  representative  for  thirty  thou 
sand  (Journal  United  States  Senate,  vol.  i.  p.  422).  A  bill 
then  passed  both  houses  of  Congress,  apportioning  the  rep 
resentatives  to  the  several  States  in  the  ratio  of  one  for 
every  thirty  thousand  in  each  State,  which  received  the 
assent  of  the  President.  It  was  received  from  the  House  in 
the  Senate,  10th  of  April,  and  by  unanimous  consent  read 
the  first,  second,  and  third  times,  and  passed  (Journals  of 
Senate,  vol.  i.  p.  428). 


536  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENGE 

The  people  of  the  United  States  were  now  divided  into 
two  great  parties,  Federalists  and  Democrats.  The  atten 
tive  reader  of  American  history  cannot  fail  to  discern  the 
germs  of  these  parties  anterior  to  the  adoption  of  the  Con 
stitution.  The  jealousy  of  Congress  manifested  by  the 
States,  in  the  course  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  at  the 
most  critical  periods,  threatening  ruin  to  the  common 
cause,  in  no  long  time  after  the  recognition  of  our  independ 
ence  by  Great  Britain  reduced  the  general  government  to 
utter  insignificance.  The  conflict  of  opinions  upon  the  mo 
mentous  question  of  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution 
widened  the  separation  between  the  adherents  of  Congress, 
who  endeavored  to  maintain  the  legitimate  authority  of 
that  assembly,  and  the  friends  to  the  preponderance  of  the 
States  in  our  complicated  political  system.  The  recent 
measures — the  funding  of  the  public  debt,  and  the  assump 
tion,  and  chartering  of  a  national  bank — had  so  inflamed 
the  States  Rights  party  that  at  this  session  they  for  the 
first  time  appeared  in  open  and  organized  opposition  to  the 
administration.  They  held,  no  doubt  sincerely,  that  the 
only  source  of  danger  to  the  rights  of  the  people  was  the 
tendency  of  the  central  power  to  swallow  up  the  States, 
which,  unless  met  by  prompt  and  strenuous  resistance, 
must  result  in  the  establishment  of  a  consolidated  govern 
ment  with  a  king,  if  not  in  name,  in  truth,  at  its  head. 
The  Federalists,  on  the  contrary,  and  as  truly,  believed 
the  political  system,  happily  established  by  the  Constitu 
tion,  to  be  endangered  by  the  tendency  of  the  States  to  fly 
off  from  the  central  authority,  and  successfully,  when  in 
terest  or  passion  (often  active  and  violent)  prompted,  which 
would  bring  them,  if  not  wisely  counteracted,  to  disunion, 
followed  by  civil  war,  and  terminating  in  despotism.  The 
Federalists  were  the  majority  in  the  Congress  which  termi 
nated  3d  March,  1791.  They  might  well  appeal  to  the 
measures  of  that  Congress  in  proof  of  their  wisdom  and 
patriotism.  They  had  organized  the  general  government, 
relieved  the  nation  from  the  reproach  of  the  design  to  re 
pudiate  debts  of  a  sacred  character,  or  of  indifference  to  the 
payment  of  them,  restored  its  lost  public  credit,  provided  a 
sufficient  and  permanent  revenue,  and  wisely  legislated  to 
protect  our  commerce  from  foreign  rivalry.  They  could 
truly  and  proudly  appeal  to  the  prosperity  which  gladdened 


OF  GEORGE    READ.  537 

every  heart  and  stimulated  enterprise  and  industry  in  every 
walk  of  business,  as  the  effects  of  their  policy.  But  the 
Democrats  saw  in  their  measures  remote  dangers  to  liberty 
more  than  counterbalancing  their  immediate  good  effects. 
"The  debt,"  said  its  leaders,  fc*  was  funded,  at  the  expense 
of  the  people,  for  the  benefit  of  capitalists, — mean  specu 
lators  upon  the  necessities  of  their  brethren, — to  rally  to 
the  support  of  the  administration  a  band  of  corrupt  ad 
herents,  and  to  render  it  omnipotent.  The  assumption  was 
an  iniquity,  the  bank  charter  unconstitutional,  and  the  tax 
on  domestic  spirits  the  odious  excise  which  justified  rebel 
lion."  These  parties  had  their  representatives  and  ex 
ponents  in  the  cabinet  even  of  the  President,  in  the  great 
statesmen  filling  the  secretaryships  of  state  and  the  treas 
ury,  both  sincere  lovers  of  liberty,  but  each  believing  the 
other  its  deadliest  enemy.  The  efforts  of  the  President  to 
reconcile  these  eminent  men  (now  in  open  hostility)  were 
strenuous,  judicious,  and  kind,  but  unavailing.* 

Such  was  the  state  of  parties  when  the  disastrous  defeat 
of  General  St.  Clair  made  it  necessary  for  the  President  to 
recommend  the  immediate  augmentation  of  the  army  of  the 
United  States.  A  bill  was  reported  in  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives  for  raising  three  additional  infantry  regiments 
and  a  squadron  of  cavalry,  to  serve  for  three  years,  unless 
sooner  discharged.  This  bill  was  warmly  opposed.  The 
justice  of  the  war  with  the  Indians  was  questioned,  for  it 
was  provoked,  there  was  ground  to  suspect,  by  the  aggres 
sion  of  the  whites,  and  its  necessity,  for  it  would  be  wiser 
and  cheaper  to  withdraw  our  citizens  from  the  disputed 
territory,  than  to  burden  the  people,  already  heavily 
taxed,  with  the  expense  of  such  a  war;  but  conceding 
the  justice  and  necessity  of  this  war,  the  existing  army 
was  sufficient  for  it;  and  if  not,  the  militia  was  a  better 
force  to  wage  it,  serving  for  short  periods,  as  only  would 
be  required,  and  eager  to  revenge  the  murders  of  their 
brethren  and  devastation  of  their  settlements.  Always 
superior  to  regulars  in  intelligence,  they  would  surpass 
them  in  promptitude  and  in  vigor,  and  at  least  equal 

*  Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  vol.  v.  pp.  346-359;  Writings  of 
Thomas  Jefferson,  vol.  iii.  pp.  359-368. 

35 


538  LIFE   AND    COEEESPONDENGE 

them  in  courage,  and,  from  their  habits  as  frontiersmen, 
be  far  better  suited  for  Indian  warfare.  It  was  replied 
that  no  doubt  three  thousand  American  citizens  had  been 
cruelly  killed  or  hurried  into  captivity,  and  a  large  ex 
tent  of  country  laid  waste;  and  a  war  to  punish  these 
atrocities  and  prevent  their  repetition  was  surely  neces 
sary,  and  was  just,  especially  as  every  effort  for  peace  had 
been  made  by  the  President  in  vain ;  that  in  the  state 
of  exasperated  feelings  between  the  whites  and  Indians 
peace  would  be  impossible  until  the  latter  should  be  chas 
tised  and  the  frontier  secured  by  driving  them  farther  west. 
But  if  the  United  States  declined  further  hostilities,  would 
they  cease?  On  the  contrary,  it  was  certain  that  the 
Indians,  emboldened  by  what  they  would  believe  the  pusil 
lanimity  of  the  pale  faces,  would  visit  the  unhappy  frontier, 
on  a  wider  and  widening  area,  with  all  the  horrors  of  their 
infernal  warfare.  Fifteen  hundred  Indian  warriors  hung 
like  a  dark  cloud  upon  the  western  frontier,  ready  to  spread 
ruin  and  death  along  and  within  it,  and  gentlemen  should  be 
ashamed  to  object  to  the  expense  of  protecting  their  brethren, 
the  hardy  pioneers  of  civilization,  with  all  its  blessings.  If 
government  should  be  left  to  prosecute  this  war  with  inade 
quate  means,  its  expense  would  in  the  end  only  be  en 
hanced,  for  another  unsuccessful  campaign  would  embolden 
the  enemy  and  make  their  subjugation  more  tedious;  and 
while  the  courage  of  the  militia  was  admitted,  it  was  urged 
that  experience  had  shown  it  to  be  far  more  expensive  than 
regular  soldiers,  insubordinate,  and,  except  for  temporary 
service,  not  to  be  relied  upon. 

This  bill,  entitled  "  An  act  for  making  further  and  more 
effectual  provision  for  protecting  the  frontier  of  the  United 
States,"  was  passed  by  the  House,  and  sent  to  the  Senate 
for  concurrence,  February  2d,  1792.  It  was  debated  till 
the  23d  of  that  month,  when  it  passed  the  Senate  by  the 
vote  of  16  yeas  to  11  nays,  Mr.  Read  voting  for  it,  and 
against  several  preceding  motions  to  strike  out  sections  of 
it.  (Journals  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i. 
p.  395.)  After  disagreement  as  to  amendments  of  this  bill 
with  the  House,  the  final  report  of  their  joint  committee  of 
conference  was  accepted  by  both,  and  the  bill  was  passed, 
and,  March  5th,  was  approved  by  the  President. — Jour 
nals  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp.  402-404. 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  530 

On  the  8th  of  May  this  session  of  Congress  was  closed  by 
adjournment  to  the  5th  day  of  November,  1792. 

Mr.  Read's  second  surviving  son,  in  behalf  of  whom  the 
letter  next  presented  to  the  reader  was  written,  had  been 
regularly  trained  as  a  merchant  in  one  of  the  first  houses 
of  Philadelphia,  and  realized  by  his  subsequent  character 
the  expectations  awakened  by  his  exemplary  deportment 
in  his  youth.  He  made  several  voyages  as  supercargo  to 
India,  which  I  have  no  doubt  agreeably  interrupted  the 
monotony  of  Mr.  Read's  family  life,  the  hope  of  his  son's 
safe  return,  as  is  usual  in  such  cases,  predominating  over 
fears  for  his  safety. 

"NEW  CASTLE,  20th  August,  1T92. 

"DEAR  SIR, — From  our  long  acquaintance  I  have  taken 
the  liberty  of  introducing  the  bearer  of  this,  my  son  Wil 
liam  Read,  to  your  acquaintance  as  a  young  mercantile 
man,  who  has  served  a  four  years'  apprenticeship  with  Mr. 
Mordecai  Lewis,  where  I  got  him  placed  originally,  with 
the  assistance  of  Messrs.  Samuel  and  Isaac  Wharton,  your 
friends,  in  the  year  1789.  Mr.  Lewis  was  pleased  to  in 
trust  him  and  Mr.  George  Plumsted  with  the  agency  of  the 
ship  '  Union,'  Captain  Ashmead,  belonging  to  Mordecai 
Lewis  &  Co.,  sent  to  Canton  in  China,  and,  as  I  have  always 
understood,  his  conduct  on  that  occasion  was  satisfactory  to 
Mr.  Lewis  and  all  concerned.  He  has  now  a  desire  to 
become  the  supercargo  of  Mr.  S.  Howell's  ship  '  Samson' 
in  her  next  voyage  to  Canton,  and  has  made  his  application 
to  him  for  that  purpose ;  and  my  son  understands  you  will 
be  a  considerable  shipper,  and  if  such,  wishes  to  be  made 
known  to  you  and  have  your  approbation  of  him.  I  have 
the  happiness  as  a  parent  who  has  attended  to  his  conduct 
hitherto  carefully  to  say  that  he  is  of  the  best  disposition, 
strict  integrity  and  probity,  and  apparently  active  and  dili 
gent.*  It  would  give  me  pleasure  if  you,  upon  further 

*  Mr.  William  Read,  after  several  successful  voyages  to  India  as 
supercargo,  established  himself,  with  his  brother-in-law,  Matthew 
Pearce,  in  Philadelphia,  as  merchants  in  the  East  India  trade,  but  by 
failure  of  a  firm  for  whom  they  had  indorsed,  and  capture  of  one  of  their 
ships  on  her  return  voyage  from  Canton  by  a  French  privateer,  off  the 
capes  of  Delaware,  after  several  years  of  prosperous  business  they  were 
obliged  to  suspend,  and  my  uncle,  to  retrieve  his  fortunes,  to  sail  again 
to  India,  where  he  remained  for  several  years  trading  to  several  ports. 


540  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

inquiry  into  the  character  and  capacity  of  my  son,  could 
give  him  your  countenance  and  aid  in  obtaining  the  place 
of  supercargo  on  board  of  Mr.  Howell's  ship  in  her  intended 
voyage  to  Canton.  Excuse  the  freedom  I  have  taken  on 
this  occasion,  and  believe  me  yours,  very  sincerely, 

"GEORGE  READ. 
"  Mr.  JOHN  WHARTON,  Philadelphia." 

Mr.  Read,  while  attending  Congress,  had  resided  with 
Mrs.  House,  whose  boarding-house  was  the  best  in  Phila 
delphia.  He  was  now  obliged  to  inform  her  that  he  could 
not  be  one  of  her  family  during  the  approaching  session  of 
Congress : 

"NEW  CASTLE,  October,  13th  1792. 

"  MY  DEAR  MADAM, — In  July  last  I  was  seized  with  an 
intermittent  fever,  which  continued  with  little  alteration 
for  more  than  six  weeks, — since  which  I  have  been  con 
sidered  by  my  physician  in  a  state  of  recovery,  he  only 
recommending  exercise  and  a  dose  or  two  of  bark  in  the 
twenty-four  hours  as  the  means  to  effect  it;  but  I  have 
progressed  so  slowly  in  that  recovery  that  I  am  apprehen 
sive  I  shall  be  very  much  of  an  invalid  through  the  winter, 
and  as  such  would  be  rather  a  disagreeable  lodger.  It 
would  distress  me  greatly  daily  to  exhibit  a  countenance 
expressive  of  bodily  infirmity  among  so  large  a  body  of 
gentlemen  as  your  house  has  been  and  will  be  filled  with, 
and  in  such  a  condition  I  must  be  an  unpleasant  object  to 
others  in  full  health  and  spirits ;  therefore  it  is,  madam, 
that  I  must  think  of  living  with  more  privacy  than  I  can 
with  you.  And  to  this  end  I  have  it  in  view  to  go  to  the 
small  house  occupied  by  my  two  sons,  in  Dock  Street,  in 
which  Mrs.  Read,  who  has  lately  been  on  a  visit  to  them, 
says  I  may  be  comfortably  lodged  and  have  all  that  retire- 


He  was  widely  known  and  respected  in  Philadelphia,  where  he  died  in 
1846,  in  his  seventy-ninth  year.  An  uncle  of  the  celebrated  traveller, 
Edward  Daniel  Clarke,  from  his  extraordinary  amiability  of  temper  was 
called  Mild  William.  This  epithet  might  as  truly  have  been  applied  to 
my  uncle,  who  was  so  gentle  and  amiable  that  nothing  could  disturb  his 
equanimity.  His  wife,  losing  her  own  temper  at  his  imperturbableness, 
once  exclaimed,  "Mr.  Read,  why  will  you  not  be  angry?"  He  was 
much  devoted  to  books,  but  too  modest  to  display  the  extensive  knowl 
edge  he  had  acquired. 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  541 

ment  I  would  wish  for  in  my  present  state  of  health.  You, 
madam,  from  the  want  of  health  in  the  two  last  years,  can 
well  judge  of  what  must  be  the  feelings  of  an  invalid  among 
your  numerous  lodgers,  and  I  presume  will  consider  my 
proposal  of  secluding  myself  from  a  situation  in  your  house, 
always  pleasing  to  me  on  every  account,  as  prudent  and 
necessary.  So  that  the  room  I  have  generally  had,  and 
you  were  so  good  as  to  say  I  should  have  on  my  return  this 
fall,  may  he  disposed  of  for  the  ensuing  winter,  to  your  best 
liking.  Could  I  suppose  my  declining  to  occupy  it  would 
prevent  your  having  another  occupant  for  it,  I  should  im 
mediately  tell  you  that  no  disappointment  of  that  sort 
should  affect  you ;  but  I  take  it  for  granted  that  as  soon  as 
the  vacancy  shall  be  known  it  will  be  instantly  applied  for. 
I  should  have  given  this  intimation  sooner,  but  I  flattered 
myself  that  from  regular  exercise  on  horseback  and  good 
management  of  myself  I  might  be  reinstated  in  time  for 
the  meeting  of  Congress ;  however,  at  present  it  seems  far 
otherwise,  and  I  must  submit.  I  wish  you  to  present  my 
best  wishes  to  Mrs.  Triest  and  compliments  to  all  of  your 
present  family.  And  I  arn,  with  much  esteem,  yours, 
sincerely, 

"GEORGE  HEAD. 
"  To  Mrs.  HOUSE,  Philadelphia." 

The  second  session  of  the  Second  Congress  commenced 
at  Philadelphia,  5th  November,  1792,  when  Mr.  Read 
attended  in  the  Senate,  and  was  present  till  it  closed.  This 
was  the  last  session  of  his  service  in  Congress. 

On  the  22d  of  November  Messrs.  Johnston,  Cabot,  and 
Read  were  appointed  a  committee  to  consider  the  expe 
diency  of  a  law  respecting  fugitives  from  justice  and  persons 
escaping  from  the  service  of  their  masters,  and,  should  they 
think  proper,  to  report  a  bill.  They  reported  a  bill,  20th 
December,  which  on  the  28th  was  recommitted,  Messrs. 
Taylor  and  Sherman  being  added  to  the  committee,  who 
reported  a  bill  which  was  passed  18th  January  and  sent  to 
the  House  for  concurrence,  was  passed  by  the  House  Feb 
ruary  5th,  and  approved  by  the  President  February  14th. 
—  United  States  Senate  Journals,  vol.  i.  pp.  465-468,  470, 
472,  479,  482,  483,  486. 

Besides  this  act  respecting  fugitives  from  justice,  etc.,  the 


542  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

principal  ones  passed  this  session  were,  "  acts  supplementary 
to  the  acts  establishing  a  mint,"  and  "  providing  means  of 
intercourse  with  foreign  nations,"  and  acts  "  regulating 
foreign  coins,"  "  for  enrolling  and  licensing  vessels  in  the 
coasting  trade,"  to  "  promote  the  progress  of  useful  arts," 
to  "  regulate  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes," 
and  an  act  in  addition  to  the  act  "  to  establish  the  United 
States  Courts." — United  States  Senate  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  506, 
Appendix. 

Colonel  Bedford  had  been  again  chosen  an  elector  of 
President  and  Vice-President  of  the  United  States.  Mr. 
Read,  feeling  it  to  be  his  duty  to  bear  testimony  against  the 
misrepresentations  of  the  conduct  of  John  Adams  in  the 
chair  of  the  Senate,  widely  circulated  to  defeat  his  re-elec 
tion  to  the  Vice-Presidency,  wrote  the  following  letter,  ex 
pressing  his  high  opinion  of  the  abilities  and  integrity  of 
that  patriot : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  30th  November,  1792. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Recollecting  that  on  Wednesday  next  you 
meet  your  two  colleagues  as  electors  of  President  and  Vice- 
President  of  the  United  States,  I  have  supposed  that  you 
would  expect  some  information  from  me  respecting  Mr. 
Adams,  the  present  Vice-President,  as  to  his  conduct  in  the 
chair  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  since  so  much 
pains  has  been  taken  in  the  public  prints  of  the  present 
year  to  raise  a  general  prejudice  against  him,  in  expectation 
of  preventing  his  re-election. 

"  It  is  but  a  piece  of  justice,  due  to  Mr.  Adams,  for  me 
to  say  that  as  chairman  of  the  House  of  Congress  of  which 
I  arn  a  member  from  the  Delaware  State,  his  conduct,  at 
all  times  since  his  being  placed  there,  hath  appeared  to  me 
attentive,  upright,  fair,  and  unexceptionable,  and  his  attend 
ance  at  the  daily  meetings  of  the  Senate  uncommonly  exact. 
As  to  his  having  abilities  equal  to  that  station,  none  of  his 
detractors  insinuate  a  want  thereof,  and  anything  on  that 
head  from  me  must  be  unnecessary, — his  various  political 
publications  sufficiently  evidence  such  ability. 

"With  respect  to  the  objections  to  him  which  I  have 
heard  or  seen  on  paper,  they  principally  existed  previously 
to  his  former  election,  at  which  you  well  know  his  popu 
larity  was  such  as  to  induce  a  portion  of  electors  in  each 
State  to  throw  away  their  votes  (but  not  to  be  done  now 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  543 

by  those  who  wish  his  re-election),  by  applying  them  to 
names,  not  with  a  view  to  their  return,  but  in  order  to  secure 
the  Presidency  to  General  Washington.  The  present  change 
of  sentiment,  therefore,  with  respect  to  Mr.  Adams  is  not 
easy  to  be  accounted  for  at  a  distance  from  the  central 
scene.  I  have  supposed  the  clamor  raised  against  Mr. 
Adams  to  have  proceeded  from  a  personal  dislike  of  an  in 
dividual,  contracted,  perhaps,  before  the  adoption  of  the 
present  Federal  system,  as  well  as  from  the  general  jealousy 
that  such  of  the  Southern  States  as  are  most  interested  in 
the  future  seat  of  the  Federal  government  entertain  of  the 
possibility  or  probability  of  its  being  changed  through  the 
influence  of  an  Eastern  character  in  high  station. 

"  Some  pretend  an  opinion  that  a  rotation  in  office  is  a 
salutary  thing  in  republican  governments ;  but  this  has 
always  appeared  to  me  an  insincere  reason  urged  by  those 
who  use  it ;  but  this,  perhaps,  because  my  sentiments  have 
been,  at  all  times,  uniformly  otherwise  :  to  wit,  that  when 
a  fit  character  hath  been  selected  for  office,  either  by  the 
people  or  by  their  executive  authority,  and  he  discovers 
such  fitness  by  an  able  discharge  of  duty  for  a  time,  such 
person  hath  a  reasonable  claim  to  an  after-continuance  in 
office,  and  I  consider  it  as  conducing  to  the  interest  of  the 
community  for  whom  such  officer  acts,  by  means  of  the  im 
proved  knowledge  of  the  duties  of  office  which  he  acquires. 

"  You  may  be  assured  that  what  I  have  before  said  as  to 
Mr.  Adams  hath  not  proceeded  from  any  intimacy  subsist 
ing  between  us,  for  in  the  three  past  years  I  have  not  been 
so  many  times  in  his  residence,  exclusive  of  the  compli 
mentary  visit  at  the  commencement  of  each  session. 

a  I  am,  etc., 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"  GUNNING  BEDFORD,  Esquire,  New  Castle,  Delaware/' 

On  the  loth  of  February,  1792,  the  votes  for  President 
and  Vice-President  were  opened  by  the  President  of  the 
Senate,  in  presence  of  both  Houses,  and  counted,  when  it 
was  ascertained  and  declared  that  George  Washington  was 
unanimously  elected  President,  and  John  Adams  (by  a 
plurality  of  votes)  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 
The  three  votes  of  Delaware  were  cast  for  both. 

This  session  is  memorable  for  an  assault  in  the  House  of 


544  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

Representatives,  acrimonious  and  violent,  upon  the  Secre 
tary  of  the  Treasury.  At  the  last  session  of  Congress  acts 
were  passed  authorizing  the  borrowing  of  twelve  millions 
abroad,  to  be  applied  in  payment  of  the  foreign  debt  of  the 
United  States,  and  two  millions  to  be  applied  to  pay  their 
domestic  debt.  The  French  government  was  desired  to 
settle  a  rule  by  which  moneys  paid  them  by  the  United 
States  should  be  received  and  credited,  and  the  French 
minister  to  the  United  States  expressed  the  wish  that  part 
of  their  debt  to  France  should  be  paid  in  provisions,  to  be 
sent  to  St.  Domingo,  where  the  slaves  were  in  a  state  of 
insurrection,  and  a  decree  of  the  National  Assembly  was 
necessary  to  authorize  this  payment.  The  disordered  state 
of  public  affairs  in  France  delayed  this  rule  and  decree, 
and  therefore  the  payment  of  her  debt,  for  which  Mr. 
Hamilton  was  unjustly  blamed.  The  money  abroad  ap 
plicable  to  it,  lying  idle,  he  drew  it  home  and  applied  it  to 
the  purchase  of  the  domestic  debt,  to  great  advantage,  as 
it  bore  then  a  low  price  in  market,  while  foreign  capital 
was  pouring  into  the  United  States  to  purchase  it.  By 
this  operation  a  double  benefit  resulted, — the  extinguish 
ment,  on  favorable  terms,  of  a  large  amount  of  domestic 
debt,  and  an  increase  of  its  price  by  the  United  States 
coming  into  market  to  buy  it,  which  enabled  the  holders 
to  sell  it  at  a  better  rate,  and  to  foreigners,  than  they 
otherwise  could  have  done.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
also  complied  with  the  repeated  and  urgent  request  of  the 
French  minister  to  pay  the  French  debt,  in  part,  by  pro 
visions  exported  from  the  United  States  to  St.  Domingo, 
— to  the  manifest  advantage  of  our  producers,  and  honor 
able  to  the  people,  being  evidence  of  their  gratitude  for  the 
French  alliance, — a  decree  of  the  National  Convention, 
which  took  the  place  of  the  National  Assembly,  having 
authorized  it.  These  operations  were  so  manifestly  for  the 
public  benefit  that  the  resolutions  of  Mr.  Giles,  censuring 
them,  were  rejected  by  a  large  majority,  it  being  also  plain 
that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  though  he  had  tran 
scended  these  acts  of  Congress,  had  acted  in  the  exercise  of 
a  sound  discretion,  believing  it  for  the  national  advantage, 
under  circumstances  unforeseen  by  Congress  when  it  passed 
these  acts,  and  therefore  unprovided  for.  Some  weight 
ought  to  be  conceded  to  the  objection  that  it  was  danger- 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  545 

ous  to  sanction  the  assumption  by  an  executive  officer  of 
legislative  power ;  but  we  can  hardly  censure  him  for  hav 
ing  forgotten  for  a  moment  the  respect  and  courtesy  it  is 
always  convenient  and  decent  for  the  departments  of  gov 
ernment  to  maintain  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other, 
because  it  was  in  the  excitement  of  honest  indignation  at 
the  false  and  untenable  charge  of  not  having  accounted  for 
a  large  sum  of  public  money. 

Congress  adjourned  on  the  second  day  of  March,  1793. 

Mr.  Dickinson  having  received  some  choice  wine,  and 
wishing  his  old  friend  to  partake,  sent  him  a  portion  of  it. 
They  both  probably  received  as  a  truth  the  aphorism  that 
"  wine,  poison  to  the  young,  is  the  milk  of  old  men."  His 
gift  was  accompanied  with  this  letter : 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — I  have  lately  received  a  gross  of 
the  best  claret  I  have  had  these  fifteen  years,  and  as  I 
think  such  a  wine  very  good  for  such  constitutions  as  ours, 
I  beg  thy  acceptance  of  a  part. 

"  I  am  thy  truly  affectionate  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 
"WILMINGTON,  March  19th,  1793. 
"  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire,  New  Castle." 

In  the  year  1792  the  people  of  Delaware,  by  a  convention* 
they  had  duly  elected,  adopted  a  constitution  to  supersede 
that  of  1776.  It  is  only  necessary  for  me,  in  connection 
with  an  important  event  in  the  life  of  Mr.  Read,  to  notice, 
in  part,  the  article  of  this  instrument  relating  to  the  judicial 
power  thereby  established,  which  was  vested  in  a  court  of 
chancery,  orphans'  and  registers'  courts,  supreme  court,  and 
court  of  common  pleas,  of  concurrent  jurisdiction  through 
out  the  State  in  civil  cases,  each  to  consist  of  a  chief  justice 
and  two  or  three  associates,  the  former  to  be  justices  of 
oyer  and  terminer,  and  the  latter  to  constitute  the  court  of 
quarter  sessions.  One  defect  of  this  system  was  its  cum- 
brousness  nnd  useless  expense,  two  courts  of  concurrent 
civil  jurisdiction  being  unnecessary  in  so  small  a  State  as 
Delaware  :  the  reason  alleged  for  which  was  that  otherwise 

*  The  most  prominent  members  of  this  convention  were  John  Dick 
inson,  Kensey  Johns,  Richard  Bassett,  and  Nicholas  Ridgley.  This 
constitution  was  superseded  in  1832  by  the  existing  one. 


546  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

a  court  of  appeals  (which  was  provided  for)  could  not  be 
constituted.  Another  defect  was  that  these  judges  were 
not  required  to  be  lawyers,*  and  therefore  it  might  happen 
(and  did  happen)  that  the  associates  would  either  exercise 
the  high  functions  of  judges  without  being  qualified,  or  be 
mere  ciphers. 

The  office  of  governor  of  Delaware  was  then  filled  by  a 
gentleman  who  was  a  physician  by  profession.  He  was 
the  father  of  the  eminent  lawyer,  Thomas  Clayton,  lately 
deceased,  who  served  in  the  House  of  Representatives  and 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  and  had  been  Attorney-Gen 
eral  and  Chief  Justice  of  Delaware.  Governor  Clayton  ap 
pears  by  the  following  letter  to  have  been  laudably  anxious 
to  appoint  proper  persons  to  the  judgeships  it  was  now  his 
duty  to  fill.  He  had  solicited  Mr.  Read's  acceptance  of 
either  of  the  chief  justiceships  of  the  supreme  court  or 
common  pleas,  or  of  the  chancellorship,  and  repeats  this 
solicitation  in  this  letter  written  from 

"BACK  CREEK,  July  21st,  1193. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — I  take  the  liberty  again  to  solicit  your  ac 
ceptance  of  the  chief  justiceship  of  either  of  the  courts,  or 
of  the  chancellorship  of  this  State.  I  am  persuaded,  sir,  no 
man  among  us  can  give  such  general  satisfaction,  or  render 
such  essential  services  to  the  public,  as  you  can  in  any  of 
these  stations ;  these  considerations  make  me  very  anxious 
for  your  acceptance.  If,  on  consideration  of  the  subject,  you 
should  think  it  will  be  convenient  to  you  to  take  any  of 
these  appointments,  you  will  please  name  the  one  that  will 
be  most  agreeable  to  you ;  but  if  you  decide  otherwise 
(which  I  hope  you  may  not),  I  shall  also  thank  you  to  in 
form  me,  that  early  application  may  be  made  to  others. 

"  I  am,  sir,  with  every  sentiment  of  respect,  your  most 
obedient  servant, 

u  J.  CLAYTON. 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ." 

*  But  it  was  always  understood  that  the  convention  intended  and 
expected  the  chief  justices  should  be  lawyers,  and  such  was  the  belief 
of  the  Legislature  which  established  their  salaries, — shown  by  the  dif 
ference  in  regard  to  the  amounts  of  them.  Yet  the  successor  of  Judge 
Bassett,  the  first  chief  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas,  was  not 
a  lawyer.  The  present  constitution  substituting  for  the  two  courts 
above  mentioned,  one,  consisting  of  a  chief  justice  and  three  associ 
ates,  requires  them  all  to  be  lawyers. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  547 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  replied  : 

"August  20th,  1703. 

"  SIR, — The  especial  manner  in  which  you  were  pleased, 
in  your  letter  to  me  of  the  21st  ult.,  to  press  upon  me  the 
reconsideration  of  your  former  offer  of  the  chief  justiceship 
of  either  of  the  two  law  courts,  or  of  the  chancellorship  of 
this  State,  with  your  opinion  of  a  capacity  on  my  part  to 
render  useful  services  to  the  public  in  any  of  those  stations, 
was  not  only  very  flattering  to  me,  but  I  assure  you  hath 
been  a  strong  inducement  with  me  to  give  up  a  resolution 
I  had  taken  to  avoid  as  much  as  I  reasonably  might  all 
public  duties  that  would  require  great  attention  and  much 
exercise  of  the  mental  faculties.  The  station  in  which  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  had  been  pleased  to  place  me  for 
the  four  years  past,  and  continuing  for  near  four  years  to 
come,  of  their  representative  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  was  and  is  more  eligible  in  my  view,  as  well  on  ac 
count  of  a  less  continued  exertion  of  the  mind,  as  in  point 
of  importance  in  society;  but,  sir,  after  much  conflict  of 
opinion  and  solicitations  from  a  variety  of  respectable  per 
sons,  who  somehow  were  informed  or  got  to  know  that  I  was 
in  your  contemplation  as  one  of  the  persons  intended  to  fill 
a  seat  in  one  of  the  courts  established  by  the  present  consti 
tution  of  the  State,  I  have  at  length  determined  to  accept 
of  the  chief  justiceship  of  the  supreme  court,  under  the  idea 
that  it  may  be  the  one  of  the  three  judgeships  that,  consist 
ently  with  my  ability  of  body  at  rather  an  advanced  period 
of  life,  I  may  probably  be  most  useful  in;  though  I  assure 
you  that  I  doubt  its  business  will  accumulate  in  a  short 
time,  so  as  to  make  the  attention  to  its  determination  a  very 
burdensome  duty,  most  likely  beyond  my  ability  to  go 
through  with  :  and  when  it  shall  so  happen,  I  hope  I  may 
without  censure  retire. 

"The  annual  compensation  which  the  Legislature  of  the 
State  made  at  their  last  session  I  consider  as  inadequate  to 
the  service  to  be  performed  by  a  first  judge  in  either  of 
those  two  law  courts ;  therefore,  as  well  in  duty  to  myself 
as  any  that  may  succeed  therein,  I  make  the  declaration 
now,  that  I  may  not  be  thought  concluded  from  asking  for 
an  increase  of  allowance  futurely.  Certainly  if  a  person 
possessing  professional  knowledge,  acquired  by  much  appli- 


548  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

cation  of  time  and  considerable  expense,  doth  employ  that 
solely  to  the  use  of  the  public,  that  public  should  at  least 
allow  him  therefor  his  usual  annual  expenditures,  which 
the  one  thousand  dollars  will  not  be  equal  to,  for  rny  an 
nual  average  expenses  of  the  thirty  past  years  of  my  life 
hath  exceeded  that  sum;  and  I  have  not  heretofore  con 
sidered  myself  as  unnecessarily  expensive,  but  rather  other 
wise, — however  true  it  is  that  from  several  other  circum 
stances,  among  which  was  my  having  engaged  in  too  much 
public  State  duty,  and  of  course  sacrificing  much  of  my  time 
therein,  that  the  property  I  now  possess  will  not  admit  of 
my  dependence  thereon,  with  the  addition  of  the  one  thou 
sand  dollars  per  annum,  for  a  sole  future  support  for  me  and 
those  dependent  upon  me ;  and  on  my  acceptance  of  the 
proposed  office  I  am  restrained  from  the  means  of  other 
acquisition,  in  the  only  way  in  which  I  could  have  a  chance 
of  so  doing.  And  while  I  am  on  this  part  of  the  subject, 
permit  me  to  suggest  to  you  the  opinion  that  was  had  at 
the  first  planning  of  the  draft  of  that  part  of  the  present 
State  constitution  prescribing  the  number  of  judges  in  the 
two  law  courts, — to  wit,  that  three  would  be  sufficient  at  all 
times,  and  more  within  the  ability  of  the  State  to  provide 
for  than  a  greater  number ;  but  it  being  evident  from  former 
habit  and  experience  that  one  judge  of  each  court  must 
always  reside  in  each  county,  thence,  in  case  of  a  vacancy 
of  the  chief  justiceship,  the  Executive  would  be  confined  in 
his  choice  to  a  person  who  either  then  was,  or  would  on 
appointment  to  such  vacancy  become,  a  resident  of  such 
county;  and  therefore  it  was  that  the  expressions,  as  finally 
adopted  in  the  third  and  fourth  sections  of  the  sixth  article 
of  that  constitution,  were  introduced, — to  \\  it,  that  the 
judges  of  those  courts  '  be  not  feiver  than  three  nor  more  than 
four,'  with  an  expectation  that  the  fourth  place  would  only 
be  filled  from  such  an  existing  necessity  as  before  men 
tioned.  I  am  well  satisfied  that  the  convention  at  framing 
those  sections  had  it  only  in  expectation  that  the  first  seat 
in  those  two  law  courts  should  be  filled  by  real  professional 
characters  in  the  first  instance ;  and  such  evidently  was  the 
idea  entertained  by  the  State  Legislature  since,  from  the 
difference  they  made  in  the  annual  salaries,  and  such  will 
probably  be  the  case  ;  and  if  so,  a  fourth  judge,  without  pro 
fessional  knowledge,  may  be  considered  like  unto  a  fifth 
wheel  to  a  coach. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  549 

"Among  other  things  that  suggested  themselves  to  my 
mind  sis  to  my  acceptance  of  the  seat  in  the  supreme  court 
was  that  of  its  being  presently  filled  by  Mr.  Killen,  a  pro 
fessional  man,  for  a  long  time,  in  whose  original  appointment 
I  had  concurred ;  as  one  of  the  three  electors  under  the  old 
constitution  of  this  State,  I  felt  a  compunction  in  con 
tributing  perhaps  to  his  removal  therefrom.  You,  sir,  may, 
in  some  future  communication  with  him,  represent  this  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  secure  me  from  plausible  censure  by 
him,  which  I  leave  to  your  own  better  opinion. 

"  I  shall  make  out  my  resignation  of  my  seat  in  the 
United  States  Senate  in  due  time,  previous  to  the  1st  of 
October,  with  its  duplicate,  the  original  to  be  delivered  to 
you,  and  the  other  I  shall  transmit  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Senate,  at  Philadelphia,  to  do  away  with  the  disqualifi 
cation  created  by  the  present  constitution  of  this  State. 
"  I  am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"Governor  CLAYTON." 

To  the  foregoing  letter  Governor  Clayton  immediately 
replied,  expressing  his  satisfaction  with  Mr.  Read's  decision 
upon  his  offer : 

"  DEAR  SIR, — It  was  with  great  pleasure  1  was  informed 
by  Mr.  George  Read,  Jr.,  upon  his  visit  to  me  with  Judge 
Paca,  that  you  had  consented  to  accept  the  chief  justiceship 
of  the  supreme  court. 

"  I  have  wished  to  have  a  communication  with  you  with 
respect  to  your  associates,  as  I  assure  you  my  intention  is 
to  make  you  as  comfortable  as  possible,  and  not  to  vex  you 
with  any  troublesome  colleague.  My  present  illness  pre 
vents  me  from  waiting  on  you  at  New  Castle,  although  I 
hope  to  have  that  pleasure  before  it  becomes  necessary  to 
make  the  appointments.  I  will  mention  those  characters 
who  have  been  thought  of  for  those  appointments,  and  I 
wish  to  be  guided  by  you  (who  must  be  a  better  judge  than 
myself)  which  of  t^em  should  be  the  men.  In  Kent  County 
there  seems  to  be  only  three  men  to  choose  from, — viz.,  Mr. 
Thomas  White,  Mr.  James  Bellach,  and  my  brother  John 
Clayton;  in  Sussex  County,  there  are  three  or  four,— viz., 
Mr.  Peter  Robinson,  Mr.  Daniel  Rodney,  Mr.  Wells,  and 
Judge  Jones. 


550  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"  I  am  also  at  some  loss  with  respect  to  the  clerks  of  that 
court,  The  man  now  in  office  in  Kent  is  a  drunken,  low 
fellow,  and  must  be  removed,  and  I  do  not  know  any 
other  person  who  has  capacity  and  sufficient  knowledge  of 
the  business.  There  are  some  young  men  who  could  learn 
the  duties,  but  in  the  mean  time  I  fear  their  want  of 
knowledge  would  give  you  trouble.  .  Tn  Sussex  County, 
Colonel  Hall,  who  is  now  the  clerk,  I  believe  does  not  want 
abilities ;  but  he  is  very  inattentive,  and  it  seems  to  be  the 
wish  of  that  county  he  should  be  removed  and  that  a  Mr. 
Hazard  should  be  appointed.  Mr.  Hazard  seems  a  gentle 
manly,  sensible  young  man,  and  has  for  some  time  past 
acted  as  a  deputy-sheriff,  and  some  gentlemen  with  whom  I 
have  conversed  seemed  to  think  he  would  do  very  well.  I 
also  wished  to  have  advised  with  you  on  the  propriety  of 
filling  the  courts,  or  only  appointing  three  to  each  of  them. 
Bassett  yet  hesitates ;  I  do  not  know  what  to  make  of  him, 
or  whether  I  may  depend  on  his  acceptance  or  not.  Per 
haps  he  may  speak  decisively  to  you.  I  shall  thank  you  to 
mention  the  matter  to  him,  and  inform  me  of  the  result,  if 
your  leisure  will  permit  you  to  write  me  a  line  in  answer. 
There  are  many  other  things  I  want  your  advice  about,  but 
I  must  reserve  them  until  I  can  have  a  personal  interview 
with  you. 

"  I  am,  with  sentiments  of  the  most  perfect  respect  and 
esteem,  your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"J.  CLAYTON. 

"August  22d,  1793. 

"  P.S. — If  there  are  any  other  gentlemen  in  the  counties 
within  your  knowledge  better  fitted  for  associate  judges 
than  those  named,  please  to  mention  them.  J.  C. 

"The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

On  the  18th  day  of  September,  1793,  Mr.  Read  resigned  his 
United  States  senatorship,  and  thereby  qualified  himself  to 
accept  the  high  and  responsible  office  to  which  he  had  been 
appointed  in  a  way  very  honorable  and  flattering  to  him. 

On  the  same  day  Mr.  Dickinson  wrote  him  upon  some  of 
his  private  business,  in  regard  to  which  it  was  his  habit  to 
consult  Mr.  Read,  and  concludes,  "My  hand  is  mending,  as 
the  doctor  thinks,  but  is  very  distressing.  Let  this  still 
severe  affliction  be  admitted  as  an  excuse  for  this  scrawl 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  551 

from  thy  always  affectionate  friend,  John  Dickinson.     Wil 
mington,  September  18th,  1793." 

The  beautiful  island  bearing  the  names  of  "  Hayti,"  "  St. 
Domingo,"  and  "  Hispaniola,"  was  discovered  by  Columbus. 
The  French  buccaneers,  about  the  middle  of  the  seven 
teenth  century,  visiting  this  island,  at  first  to  waste  in  wild 
revelry  the  fruits  of  their  accursed  piracies,  remained,  and 
they,  or  other  Frenchmen  attracted  to  them,  at  length  de 
voted  themselves  to  agriculture.  By  the  treaty  of  Ryswick 
the  western  moiety  of  this  island  was  ceded  to  the  French. 
Its  commerce,  unfettered  by  the  exclusive  privileges  of  com 
mercial  companies,  soon  flourished.  Its  face  was  picturesque 
and  romantic  in  a  high  degree.  The  extensive  savannas 
near  the  ocean,  so  gentle  and  unruffled  that  the  Spaniards 
called  it  "the  ladies1  sea"  as  they  receded  from  the  coast, 
swelled  into  hills,  and,  in  the  interior,  to  the  altitude  of 
mountains,  one  range  of  them,  the  "Cibas,"  crossing  the 
island  from  east  to  west.  Between  these  mountains  are 
cool  and  shaded  valleys,  delighting  the  eye  by  the  affluence 
and  beauty  of  vegetable  production,  in  which  nature  de 
lights  in  tropical  regions.  The  oak,  the  lignum-vitse,  the 
satin-wood,  and  the  mahogany  were  conspicuous,  which, 
while  they  astonished  by  their  giant  size,  were  eagerly 
sought  for  as  dye-woods,  for  furniture,  and  ship-building, 
and  therefore  were  valuable  in  commerce.  The  little  rills, 
ordinarily  like  silver  threads,  along  the  precipitous  sides  of 
the  mountains,  when  the  tropical  rains  descended  like  a 
deluge,  rushed  to  the  vales  wild  and  magnificent  torrents, 
or  thundered  down  the  steeps  grand  water-falls.  The 
mountain-sides,  the  valleys,  and  groves  were  resplendent 
with  flowers  of  gorgeous  hues  and  overpowering  fragrance; 
and  birds  of  the  most  beautiful  plumage,  rivalling  the 
flowers  in  hue,  and  vieing  with  the  topaz,  the  ruby,  and 
the  emerald  in  tint  and  lustre.  The  productions  of  its  soil, 
of  inexhaustible  fertility,  were  those  most  valued  and 
sought  by  merchants, — indigo,  cotton,  cocoa,  vanilla,  the 
sugar-cane,  and  coffee-tree.  The  fruits,  various  and  delicious, 
furnished  the  most  magnificent  desserts  in  the  world  ;  while 
the  climate  of  the  interior  mountain-region  was  in  delight 
ful  contrast  to  the  fierce  heat  of  the  plains.  The  planters, 
raised  to  opulence  by  the  high  prices  of  their  crops,  soon 
superadded  to  comforts  luxuries  and  the  embellishments  of 


552  LIFE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

refinement,  and  their  intercourse  had  there,  as  everywhere, 
the  characteristics  which  charm  in  French  society.  I  hope, 
from  their  national  temperament,  they  were  humane  mas 
ters,  but  cannot  forget  that  the  high  prices  of  their  produce 
were  dangerous  temptations  to  overwork  the  negroes  in  the 
coffee-fields  and  "  ingenios."  If  the  term  can  be  applied  to 
any  part  of  this  globe  blighted  since  the  fall  of  man  by  the 
awful  malediction  of  God,  the  French  portion  of  St.  Do 
mingo  was  a  paradise.  But,  alas  !  the  wild  theories  of  the 
mad  revolutionists  of  France,  after  desolating  that  fair 
monarchy,  diffused  their  poison.  The  Jacobin  propagand 
ists  found  their  way  to  Hispaniola.  With  them  it  was 
enough  that  equality  was  the  right  of  all;  they  never 
paused  to  ask  whether  there  was  that  fitness  for  it  without 
which  it  was  no  boon.  The  rights  of  man,  proclaimed  by 
Jacobin  emissaries,  the  mulattoes  were  not  backward  to 
demand,  and  the  whites  would  not  yield,  and  civil  war  was 
the  consequence.  The  negroes  rose  against  both,  and  the 
plantations,  embellished  by  wealth,  guided  by  taste, — the 
abodes  of  families  virtuous,  intelligent,  and  polished, — were 
desolated  by  murder,  fire,  and  atrocities  so  horrible  that  we 
cannot  tolerate  even  the  thought  of  them.  The  survivors 
of  these  unhappy  families  escaped  to  the  ports  of  the  island, 
but  the  emancipation  of  the  slaves  having  been  proclaimed 
by  the  insane  commissioners  ot%  the  "  National  Assembly," 
whose  advent  was  more  fraught  with  calamity  than  the 
hurricane  or  the  plague,  flight  from  the  island  could  alone 
save  them  from  destruction.  Many  escaped  to  the  United 
States.  There  they  found  sympathy  and  charity;  and  some, 
with  the  mercurial  temperament  and  facility  of  adaptation 
to  circumstances  characteristic  of  their  race,  rising  from 
their  crushing  calamity,  turned  to  account  the  accomplish 
ments  which  had  embellished  their  prosperity,  and  earned 
their  bread  as  teachers  of  drawing,  music,  and  dancing. 
Some  of  these  unhappy  fugitives  found  their  way  to  New 
Castle ;  and  they  seem  to  have  been  without  resource,  and 
therefore  cast  upon  the  charity  of  this  town.  Two  of  the 
ladies  petitioned  General  Washington  for  aid.  Discharging 
ever  the  high  duties  of  his  public  stations,  he  never  neglected 
those  pertaining  to  him  as  a  man.  While  his  heart  and 
hand  were  open  to  the  appeals  of  suffering  humanity  always, 
he  never  forgot  that  he  was  God's  almoner,  bound  not  to 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  553 

wnste  upon  impostors  his  bounty,  which  he  held  in  trust 
for  his  poor.      He  therefore  wrote  as  follows  to  Mr.  Read  : 

"PHILADELPHIA,  26th  December,  1793. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Two  of  the  unhappy  female  fugitives  from 
St.  Domingo  have  (as  you  will  see  by  the  inclosed  letter) 
laid  their  distresses  before  me,  which,  if  true  in  the  degree 
they  have  stated,  merit  much  commiseration.  But  I  have 
received  so  many  applications  of  a  similar  nature,  and  some 
of  them  from  impostors,  that  I  find  it  necessary  to  guard 
what  little  relief  I  am  able  to  afford  against  imposition. 
For  this  reason,  and  because  I  am  not  well  acquainted  with 
any  other  gentleman  in  New  Castle  from  whence  the  letters 
come,  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  putting  my  answer  to 
them  under  cover  to  you,  open,  that  if  on  inquiry  the 
authors  are  found  to  merit  relief,  it  may  be  sealed  and 
handed  to  them.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  their  statement 
should  prove  a  fictitious  tale,  the  inclosure  may  be  returned 
to  me. 

"  I  will  make  no  apology  for  giving  you  this  trouble, 
because  to  be  employed  in  acts  of  humanity  cannot,  I  am 
sure,  be  disagreeable  to  such  a  character  as  yours. 

"With  very  great  esteem  and  regard  I  am,  dear  sir,  your 
most  obedient  servant, 

"GEORGE  WASHINGTON. 

"The  Honorable  Mr.  READ." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  replied  from 

"NEW  CASTLE,  4th  January,  1794. 

"  SIR, — As  the  two  fugitive  ladies  from  St.  Domingo  who 
had  addressed  [to  you]  the  two  letters,  which  I  now  return 
in  this  inclosure,  lived  very  retired  from  their  coming  into 
this  place,  I  heard  nothing  more  of  their  situation  than  the 
report  of  three  of  the  inhabitants,  acting  as  a  committee  to 
inquire  into  the  situation  and  wants  of  the  French  strangers 
that  had  taken  temporary  residence  among  us,  by  which  it 
appeared  they  were  well-bred  women,  who  spoke  of  possess 
ing  real  property  in  the  district  of  Jeremie,  and  that  they 
had  for  some  time  expected  the  arrival  of  a  considerable 
quantity  of  coffee,  part  of  its  produce,  and  which  was  ready 
for  shipping  when  they  left  the  island;  and  that  they  ex- 

36 


554  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

pressed  a  desire  to  obtain  a  loan  or  advance  of  moneys  on 
the  credit  of  their  property,  but  declined  to  make  known 
their  particular  wants,  or  to  accept  any  part  of  the  provision 
that  had  been  directed  to  be  made  for  distressed  French 
fugitives  who  might  come  among  us.  As  I  do  not  speak 
their  language,  I  had  not  paid  them  any  personal  visit  until 
after  I  received  your  favor  of  the  26th  ult.,  when  making 
every  inquiry  within  my  power  as  to  their  character,  situ 
ation,  and  circumstances,  the  result  is  that  I  am  induced  to 
believe  they  are  such  persons  as  they  represent  themselves 
in  their  inclosed  letters,  and  further  that  their  family  con 
nections  have  been  among  the  most  respectable  of  St.  Do 
mingo.  Under  this  impression  I  delivered  your  letter  ad 
dressed  to  them,  with  its  particular  contents,  and  they 
expressed  much  satisfaction  at  the  receiving  of  it.  I  have 
hopes  that  the  Legislature  of  this  State,  to  be  in  session  in 
the  next  week,  will  provide  further  relief  than  what  can  be 
obtained  from  the  contributions  of  a  few.  There  are  several 
other  wanting  fugitives  in  our  town,  and  the  burden  of 
supplying  them  is  borne  by  a  few. 

"  It  will  afford  me  pleasure  at  all  times  to  carry  into  exe 
cution  your  wishes,  more  especially  on  occasions  similar  to 
the  present  one. 

"  With  the  utmost  esteem  and  respect  I  am,  sir,  your 
most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

"GEORGE  READ. 

"To  the  President  of  the  United  States." 

The  names  of  these  unfortunate  ladies  were  Laurent  de 
Saxy  and  Laurent  de  Verneuil.  One,  perhaps  both,  were 
in  New  Castle  in  the  following  year.  I  find  among  Mr. 
Read's  papers  a  letter  from  Madame  de  Saxy,  written  26th 
August,  1794,  in  a  style  which  shows  her  to  have  been  well 
educated  and  refined,  addressed  to  him,  imploring  relief, 
and  describing  in  moving  terms  the  "  aifreuse  situation"  of 
herself  and  family;  having  in  charge  four  children,  sick 
with  fever,  without  money  or  food,  and  if  compelled  to  pass 
the  winter  in  New  Castle,  as  she  feared  (return  to  St.  Do 
mingo  being  impossible),  with  the  prospect  of  wanting,  in 
that  "  saison  rigoureuse,"  clothes  and  fuel,  as  well  as  bread. 
It  is  by  a  single  case  of  a  great  calamity,  distinctly  pre 
sented,  that  we  gain  a  true  and  lively  idea  of  it.  Of  this 


OF  GEORGE   HEAD.  555 

lady  Mr.  Read's  papers  furnish  no  further  information.  I 
hope  the  prayer  which  ends  her  letter,  that  heaven  would 
yet  put  it  into  her  power  to  testify  her  gratitude  for  his 
kindness,  was  answered. 

Mr.  Jefferson  wrote  thus  to  one  of  his  correspondents, 
July  14th,  1793:  "The  situation  of  the  St.  Domingo  fugi 
tives  (aristocrats  as  they  are)  calls  aloud  for  pity  and 
charity.  Never  was  so  deep  a  tragedy  presented  to  the  feel 
ings  of  man.  I  deny  the  power  of  the  general  government 
to  apply  money  to  such  a  purpose,  but  I  deny  it  with  a 
bleeding  heart." — Jeffersoris  Writings,  vol.  iv.  p.  20. 

Three  thousand  of  the  fugitives  from  St.  Domingo  were 
landed  in  Baltimore ;  many  of  them  women  without  their 
husbands,  and  children  without  their  parents.  The  citizens 
of  Baltimore  immediately  contributed  largely  for  their  re 
lief,  and  so  did  the  State  of  Maryland  for  a  limited  time.  The 
French  minister,  Genet,  gave,  from  his  private  purse,  two 
thousand  dollars  to  these  sufferers,  but  excluded  aristocrats, 
if  any  such  should  be  among  them,  from  this  bounty.  The 
committee  of  the  Maryland  Legislature  appointed  to  dis 
tribute  their  gift  among  these  fugitives,  petitioned  Congress 
to  appropriate  money  for  their  relief.  The  question  of  the 
constitutionality  of  this  appropriation  was  debated  in  the 
United  States  House  of  Representatives  on  the  10th  and 
28th  days  of  January,  1794,  —  the  strict  constructionists 
denying  the  power  to  so  appropriate  because  there  was  no 
provision  authorizing  it  in  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  while  the  advocates  for  this  power  being  in  the 
Federal  Legislature  urged  that  it  was  granted  under  the 
power  "  to  provide  for  the  general  welfare,"  and  was  justi 
fied  by  precedents,  and  especially  was  proper  in  the  case  of 
citizens  of  France,  our  former  ally  and  benefactor.  Mr. 
Madison  suggested  that  if  the  appropriation  should  be  made 
the  President  of  the  United  States  be  requested  to  obtain, 
if  possible,  credit  for  it  in  the  accounts  of  the  United  States 
with  France,  and  the  Speaker — as  I  suppose  a  compromise, 
after  the  debates — proposed  this  suggestion  by  way  of  amend 
ment,  which  was  adopted,  and  a  bill  passed  accordingly  ap 
propriating  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  for  the  support 
of  such  inhabitants  of  St.  Domingo,  within  the  United  States, 
as  might  need  it.  The  Senate  was  less  embarrassed  by 
constitutional  scruples,  which,  if  always  yielded  to,  would 


556  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

nave  made  the  administration  of  the  government  difficult. 
They  passed  the  bill,  but  amended  by  increasing  the  appro 
priation  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  and  by  striking  out  the 
paltry  provision  that  credit  for  it  should  be  sought  against 
the  debt  of  the  United  States  to  the  French  Kepublic.* 

A  State  may,  by  its  fundamental  law,  inhibit  itself  from 
all  acts  of  benevolence  to  foreigners  forced  by  calamity  to 
seek  for  refuge  within  her  territory,  but  must  deserve,  and 
probably  experience  the  like  inhumanity,  and  in  so  far  ex 
cludes  itself  from  the  brotherhood  of  nations.  An  inhibi 
tion  like  this,  it  seems  to  me,  is  not  to  be  admitted  unless 
positive  enactment  be  shown  for  it,  or  it  can  be  deduced 
from  such  enactment.  The  strict  constructionist  in  this 
case,  it  appears  to  me,  can  do  neither ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
the  power  of  Congress  to  bestow  charity  in  this  case,  though 
not  expressly  granted,  may  be  inferred  from  provisions  of 
the  Constitution. 

Mr.  Read's  friends  regretted  his  withdrawal  from  the 
Senate,  where  his  services,  always  valuable,  were  at  this 
time,  in  their  opinion,  especially  so.  One  of  these  friends 
wrote  to  him  from 

"PHILADELPHIA,  January  2d,  1794. 

"  MY  DEAR  SIR, — With  many  others,  I  do  most  sincerely 
regret  the  vacation  of  your  seat  in  the  Senate.  Pray  send 
us  in  your  room,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  a  man  of  an 
honest  heart  and  a  sound  head, — such  have  at  no  time,  you 
may  be  assured,  been  more  necessary  than  at  the  present 
most  critical  moment.  The  man  you  send  us  may  decide  our 
fate. 

"  Pray  make  us  a  visit  in  the  course  of  the  session.  And 
believe  me  to  be,  with  the  most  cordial  friendship  and  good 
wishes,  your  obedient  and  humble  servant, 

"  OLIVER  ELLSWORTH. 

"  Honorable  Mr.  READ." 

*  Madison  contended  that  the  authority  of  the  United  States  gov 
ernment  was  confined  to  specific  objects,  of  which  charity  was  not  one. 
So  Nicholson,  and  Giles,  and  Dexter  saw  weight  in  this  argument ;  but 
Murray  and  Boudinot  argued  that  as  the  States  had  surrendered  to  the 
general  government  the  power  to  regulate  intercourse  with  foreign 
nations,  it  belonged  to  Congress  to  provide  for  cases  like  this. — Hil- 
dreth's  History  of  the  United  Slates,  vol.  i.  p.  479  ;  Benton's  Abridg 
ment  of  the  Debates  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  vol.  i.  pp. 
447,  462,  474. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  557 

This  letter  was  inclosed  in  the  one  which  follows  from 
Richard  Bassett,  who  had  also  left  the  United  States  Sen 
ate,  having  been  appointed  Chief  Justice  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas  in  Delaware,  and  accepted  this  appointment. 

"RED  LION,*  January  3d,  1794. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — Inclosed  is  a  letter  from  our  old  friend 
Ellsworth.  I  have  been  up  with  my  children  to  the  city, 
and  am  now  on  my  return.  Some  of  our  friends  in  the 
Senate  feel  sensibly  the  want  of  your  aid.  Poor  Izard  is,  1 
assure  you,  truly  a  distressed  man,  and  though  I  feel  much 
for  his  situation,  yet  a  degree  of  levity,  in  spite  of  every 
thing,  arose  in  my  mind  while  he  painted  his  and  our  other 
friends'  present  difficulties  :  you  know  the  man.  They  wish 
much  your  place  to  be  filled  as  speedily  as  possible  with 
the  best  man  we  can  get,  and  indeed  I  am,  from  the  short 
interview  I  have  had  with  many  of  the  well  disposed,  of 
opinion  it  is  necessary  we  should  exert  ourselves  a  little  to 
send  forward  speedily  our  man,  if  possible.  Pray  have  some 
communication  with  Grantham,  and  others  who  you  can 
converse  with  upon  the  subject. 

"My  respects  to  Mrs.  Read.  I  am,  sir,  with  great  re 
spect,  yours  affectionately, 

"  RICHARD  BASSETT. 

"  Excuse  hurry,  bad  ink,  pen,  and  paper. 

"  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  New  Castle." 

The  Legislature  of  Delaware  at  their  session  in  January, 
1794,  neglected  to  supply  the  vacancy  in  the  United  States 
Senate  caused  by  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Read,  wherefore  I 
am  uninformed.  The  question  was  raised  whether  or  not 
the  Governor  of  Delaware  could — there  having  been  a  ses 
sion  of  the  Legislature  since  this  resignation — make  a  tem 
porary  appointment  to  fill  this  vacancy.  He  asked  Mr. 
Read's  opinion  upon  this  question  in  his  letter  addressed 
to  him 

"10th  March,  1794. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — The  Legislature  at  their  last  sitting  having 
neglected  to  appoint  a  senator  to  supply  the  vacancy  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  occasioned  by  your  resignation, 

*  A  tavern  on  the  State  road,  seven  miles  below  New  Castle. 


558  LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE 

and  it  having  been  represented  to  me  that  it  would  be 
much  to  the  interest  of  the  United  States  that  a  represen 
tation  should  be  had  from  this  State,  I  some  time  ago  wrote 
to  Mr.  Booth  requesting  him  to  consult  you  on  this  sub 
ject,  and  to  request  that  you  would  give  your  opinion  in 
writing, —  'whether  the  Executive  of  the  State  can  now 
make  a  temporary  appointment,  the  Legislature  having 
been  in  session  since  the  vacancy  happened.'  It  may  now 
perhaps  be  said  that  the  session  of  Congress  is  so  near  over 
that  the  appointment  is  unnecessary,  but  I  am  informed  that 
the  most  of  the  material  business  is  yet  to  do,  and  that 
there  is  a  great  probability  Congress  will  continue  sitting  a 
considerable  time ;  and  if  your  opinion  should  be  that  I 
have  the  power,  I  shall  be  disposed  to  make  the  experiment 
whether  the  Senate  would  accept  a  member  so  appointed. 

"  It  would  seem  to  me  the  intention  of  the  Legislature 
should  be  the  pole-star  for  interpreting  the  law.  The  ob 
vious  meaning  of  the  Constitution*  certainly  is  that  no 
vacancy  should  continue  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States, 
and  in  order  that  this  should  always  be  avoided  the  Execu 
tive  is  vested  with  authority  to  fill  such  vacancy  when  the 
common  mode  of  election  cannot  conveniently  be  had.  This 
construction  is  to  be  favored  because  it  supports  the  design 
of  the  Constitution.  On  the  contrary,  if  the  Legislatures 
should  refuse  or  neglect  to  appoint  the  senators,  the  whole 
system  of  government  might  be  overthrown.  However,  I 
wish  to  be  directed  in  this  business  by  your  advice  and  di 
rection,  and  should  thank  you  to  favor  me  with  your 
opinion  as  speedily  as  possible. 

"  I  am,  with  sentiments  of  great  respect,  your  most 
obedient  servant, 

"J.  CLAYTON. 

"  The  Honorable  GEORGE  READ,  Esquire." 

To  this  letter  Mr.  Read  replied  : 

"llth  March,  1794. 

"  SIR, — Your  letter  of  yesterday  came  to  rne  this  morn 
ing  by  the  under-sheriff  Aiken,  upon  the  subject  whereof  I 

*  "  If  vacancies  happen  by  resignation,  or  otherwise  (in  the  United 
States  Senate),  during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  any  State,  the 
executive  thereof  may  make  temporary  appointments  until  the  next 
meeting  of  the  Legislature,  which  shall  then  fill  such  vacancies." — 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  art.  i.  sec.  3. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  559 

had  a  written  application  addressed  to  me,  in  my  official 
character  as  Chief  Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court,  by  Mr. 
Secretary  Booth,  on  the  1st  inst,  wherein  he  mentions  your 
desire  that  he  should  obtain  my  opinion  thereon  in  writing. 
The  following  day  I  called  upon  Mr.  Booth  to  know  if  he 
considered  the  application  [to  be]  to  me,  .in  my  official 
capacity,  according  to  the  address  of  his  letter,  and  he 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  for  that  he  so  understood  your 
directions  to  him.  I  then  informed  him  of  my  doubts  of 
the  propriety  of  my  giving  a  legal  opinion  on  a  subject  of 
any  sort,  and  particularly  on  the  one  then  proposed,  for 
that  it  was  possible,  though  I  admitted  not  very  probable, 
the  question  might  come  before  me  judicially  hereafter;  and 
that  if  the  application  to  me  was  grounded  on  the  tenth 
section  in  the  third  article  in  the  Constitution  of  this  State, 
the  provision  in  that  section  would  not  warrant  my  so  doing, 
for  that  the  expressions  there  confine  the  power  of  calling 
for  information  to  the  officers  of  the  executive  department. 
Now  the  Constitution  contemplates  three  distinct  bodies  or 
powers  to  execute  the  system,  in  most  cases  totally  inde 
pendent  of  each  other, — to  wit,  the  legislative  power,  com 
posed  of  two  branches  of  the  representatives  of  the  people ; 
supreme  executive  power,  to  be  vested  in  a  governor,  also 
to  be  chosen  by  the  people;  and  a  judiciary  power,  vested 
in  certain  courts,  to  be  filled  with  a  chancellor  and  six  other 
judges,  to  be  commissioned  by  the  executive  aforesaid  during 
good  behavior — that  when  so  organized  they  were,  for  all 
the  principal  purposes  of  their  constitution,  separate  and 
distinct,  and  severally  answerable.  Under  this  impression 
of  the  construction  of  the  general  system,  and  that  in  the 
expressions  '  the  officers  in  the  executive  department'  in  the 
said  section  the  judiciary  was  not  included,  it  was  that  I 
doubted  of  the  propriety  of  my  complying  with  the  Secre 
tary's  application. 

"That  the  English  history  affords  two  striking  instances 
of  the  severe  censure  upon  those  of  the  judiciary  of  that 
nation  (which  is  very  similar  in  its  institution  to  that  of 
the  judiciary  of  this  State)  for  extra-judicial  opinions  ob 
tained  from  and  given  by  the  judges  of  that  country  in  two 
distant  periods, — viz.,  in  the  reign  of  Richard  II.,  A  D.  1389, 
and  Charles  I.,  A  D.  1636  and  1640;  and  unless  the  system 
of  our  government  was  different  in  these  respects  from  that 


560  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

of  England,  then  these  instances  serve  as  beacons  for  the 
judiciary  here.  That  although  this  was  the  opinion  I  then 
entertained  of  my  official  duty,  I  considered  myself  at  lib 
erty  in  great  cases  of  public  concern,  equally  affecting  every 
free  citizen,  to  converse  thereon  and  express  my  sentiments  ; 
and  that  such  an  occasion  had  occurred  since  the  rising  of 
the  State  Legislature  with  Mr.  Grantham,  one  of  its  mem 
bers,  when  I  did  say  to  him  on  the  question  put  that  was  I 
vested  with  the  executive  power  of  the  State  upon  the 
present  occasion,  I  would  not  hesitate  to  exercise  the  power 
of  appointing  to  the  vacanc}'  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  from  this  State  until  the  next  meeting  of  the  State 
Legislature,  and  should  rely  upon  the  political  necessity 
of  the  case  as  a  safe  shield  of  defence  for  the  exercise  of 
the  power,  which  appeared  sufficient,  independent  of  the 
support  of  the  spirit  of  the  Federal  system.  And  I  further 
informed  Mr.  Booth  that  I  had  that  morning,  from  a  friendly 
intention  towards  you,  and  as  much  as  might  be  to  relieve 
you  from  present  doubts,  stated  the  case  generally,  and  in 
closed  it  to  Mr.  Vining,*  in  whose  power  it  might  be  to 
obtain  the  best  opinions  of  the  efficacy  of  such  an  appoint 
ment  and  to  speedily  communicate  his  information  thereon. 
My  letter  went  by  Mr.  Matthew  Pearce,  but  Mr.  Vining 
having  left  Philadelphia  before  Pearce  got  there,  had  not 
returned  when  he  left  it  on  Sunday  last.  My  letter  to 
Vining  was  left  for  him,  and  I  have  not  heard  from  him 
since.  After  such  conversation  with  Mr.  Booth,  he  asked 
me  if  he  might  communicate  the  same  to  you,  and  he  had 
my  assent  thereto ;  and  he  told  Mr.  Aiken  this  morning  if 
you  had  received  a  letter  he  had  addressed  to  you,  you  would 
not  have  been  at  the  trouble  of  writing  those  letters  by  him. 

"  I  am  fully  impressed  with  the  idea  that  at  no  time  since 
the  organization  of  the  Federal  'government  of  the  United 
States  hath  this  State  [more]  required  an  able,  active,  and 
attentive  representative  in  Congress  than  at  the  present 
period,  and  particularly  so  on  account  of  its  own  special 
interest — and  from  the  present  state  of  the  business  before 
them  the  present  session  cannot  end  speedily. 

tfc  Since  I  began  this  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr.  Latimer, 

*Johu  Vining    had   been    elected   by  the   Legislature  of  Delaware 
United  States  Senator  in  place  of  Richard  Bassett,  resigned. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  561 

dated  Newport,  7th  inst.  It  appeared  therein  that  he  had 
left  Philadelphia  the  5th,  and  Cantwell  Jones,  the  bearer, 
met  with  him  on  his  return  the  10th.  He  tells  [me]  the 
absence  of  the  Delaware  representation  was  publicly  spoken 
of  before  he  left  Philadelphia. 

"  I  yesterday  received  a  notification  from  the  attorney- 
general  that  a  person  of  the  name  of  Baynard,  being  charged 
by  the  coroner's  inquisition  of  the  wilful  murder  of  a  negro 
in  Kent  County,  would  require  the  holding  of  a  court  of 
oyer  and  terminer  and  general  [jail]  delivery  there  at  a 
short,  convenient  time, — that  the  indisposition  of  Judge 
Clayton  did  not  admit  of  his  taking  order  therein,  and  the 
business  was  referred  to  me ;  and  I  am  at  present  so  much 
engaged  with  preparations  to  attend  the  spring  circuit  that 
I  am  much  restricted  in  time  for  that  purpose,  being  obliged 
under  the  late  regulation  to  commence  that  duty  at  George 
town  in  the  first  instance,  at  the  distance  of  eighty-five 
miles,  rather  than  in  New  Castle,  at  a  very  unfavorable 
time  for  a  four  days'  travel  at  my  age,  and  more  especially 
so  as  I  have  been  laboring  under  rheumatic  or  gouty  affec 
tions  in  all  my  limbs  for  six  or  eight  days  past. 

"  I  suspect,  sir,  you  were  mistaken  when  you  were  pleased 
to  say,  as  an  argument  that  I  ought  to  accept  a  seat  in  the 
courts  of  this  State,  that  it  would  receive  the  approbation 
of  the  many,  for  that  those  who  it  was  then  supposed  would 
most  approve  thereof  by  report  were  perhaps  most  active  to 
occasion  the  regulation,  recently  made,  as  the  most  incon 
venient  to  me  personally.  My  hurry  therefore  presently 
must  be  my  apology  for  the  evident  haste  in  which  I  write 
this :  and  I  am,  with  much  respect  and  esteem,  yours, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 

"Governor  CLAYTON." 

Governor  Clayton  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was 
empowered  to  fill  the  then  existing  vacancy  in  the  United 
States  Senate,  and  exercised  it.  On  the  24th  of  March, 
1794,  Kensey  Johns  appeared  in  that  body  and  produced 
credentials  of  his  appointment.  Whereupon  it  was  moved 
that  these  credentials  be  referred  to  the  Committee  of  Elec 
tions  before  said  Kensey  Johns  should  be  permitted  to 
qualify,  and  that  committee  should  report  thereon ;  which 
motion  was  carried, — yeas  13,  nays  12.  This  committee 


562  LIFE  AND    COREESPONDENGE 

reported  26th  March,  and  their  report  ordered  to  lie  for 
consideration.  It  was  taken  up  27th  March,  a  motion  to 
recommit  it  lost,  and  postponed  till  the  28th  of  that  month, 
when  it  was  further  considered,  being  as  follows : 

uThe  Committee  of  Elections  report  that  George  Read,  a 
senator  from  Delaware,  resigned  18th  September,  1793;  and 
during  the  recess  of  the  Legislature  of  that  State,  which 
met  in  January  and  adjourned  in  February,  1794  [without 
having  appointed  a  successor  to  said  George  Read],  upon  the 
19th  day  of  March,  and  subsequent  to  the  'adjournment  of 
the  said  Legislature,  Kensey  Johns  was  appointed  by  the 
Governor  of  Delaware  to  fill  the  vacancy  occasioned  by  the 
resignation  aforesaid  ;  and  thereupon  this  committee  submit 
the  following  resolution  :  ''Resolved,  That  Kensey  Johns, 
appointed  by  the  Governor  of  Delaware  a  senator  of  the 
United  States  for  the  said  State,  is  not  entitled  to  a  seat  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  a  session  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  said  State  having  intervened  between  the  resignation 
of  the  said  George  Read  and  the  appointment  of  the  said 
Kensey  Johns.' " 

On  the  question  being  put  to  agree  to  this  report,  it 
passed  in  the  affirmative, — yeas :  Bradford,  Bradley,  Brown, 
Burr,  Butler,  Cabot,  Edwards,  Ellsworth,  Frelinghuysen, 
Gunn,  Hawkins,  Jackson,  King,  Langdon,  Livermore,  Mar 
tin,  Mitchell,  Monroe,  Robinson,  Taylor, — 20.  Nays :  Foster, 
Izard,  Morris,  Potts,  Rutherford,  Strong,  Vining, — 7.* — 


*  "  In  no  case  except  this  has  the  attempt  been  made  by  any  executive 
to  appoint,  after  the  Legislature  had  been  in  session,  and  declined  or 
neglected  to  fill  a  vacancy. 

"Three  interpretations  have  been  given  to  the  clause  of  the  Consti 
tution,  article  i.  section  3.  The  first  is  that  which  confines  the  power 
of  appointment,  and  also  the  tenure  of  the  executive  appointee,  until 
the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  that  is,  until  it  is  organized,  and 
this  seems  most  in  accordance  with  the  rational  import  of  the  language 
used.  The  second  is,  that  the  language  of  the  Constitution  merely 
limits  the  power  of  appointment  in  the  executive  until  the  next  meeting 
of  the  Legislature,  permitting  the  duration  of  the  office,  under  that  ap 
pointment,  to  be  indefinite  and  dependent  only  upon  the  action  of  the 
Legislature,  and  the  official  communication  of  that  action  to  the  Senate. 
[This  construction  was  given  by  the  majority  of  the  committee  in  the 
case  of  Phelps,  in  1854.]  The  third  limits  the  power  of  executive  ap 
pointment  to  the  next  meeting  of  the  Legislature,  and  also  limits  the 
duration  of  the  office,  under  the  executive  appointment,  to  the  close  of 
the  legislative  session,  unless  previously  terminated  by  the  action  of 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  563 

(Journals  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  vol.  ii.  pp. 
53-55,  56,  57.) 

Mr.  Read's  successor  was  not  appointed  by  the  Legisla 
ture  of  Delaware  till  1795.  On  the  28th  of  February  of 
that  year  "The  Honorable  Henry  Latirner  appeared  in  the 
Senate  and  took  his  seat,  in  place  of  the  Honorable  George 
Read,  resigned." — (Journals  of  U.S.  Senate,  vol.  ii.  p.  177.) 

The  Legislature  of  Delaware,  in  determining,  in  1793,  as 
they  did,  the  amount  of  judicial  salaries,  erred  by  making 
them  too  small,  but  do  not  stand  alone  in  this  mistake, 
which  has  been  made  by  many  of  her  sister  States.  This 
mistaken  legislation  may  be  ascribed  to  several  causes, 
having  more  or  less  influence, — the  despicable  demagog- 
ism  of  men  who  sought  popularity  by  paring  down  the  ex 
penses  of  government  to  the  lowest  possible  amounts;  selfish 
forgetfulness  of  the  golden  rule  of  giving  to  every  man  his 
due,  in  the  case  of  high  judicial  officers,  by  legislators  who 
would  have  blushed  to  have  kept  back  part  of  the  just  wages  of 
their  ploughman,  their  hedger,  or  their  ditcher;  and  chiefly, 
I  am  willing  to  believe,  from  a  false  estimate  of  the  value 
of  judicial  qualifications  and  services  which  may  affect  the 
life,  liberty,  reputation,  and  property  of  every  citizen,  and 
inattention  to  the  almost  universal  experience  that  the 
lucrative  practice  of  the  law  has  not  been  exchanged  for 
the  seat  on  the  bench,  with  inadequate  salary,  and  in  such 
cases  vacancies  have  been  filled  by  second-rate  lawyers 
instead,  as  they  ought  to  have  been  by  those  most  distin 
guished  for  ability  and  knowledge. 

Mr.  Read  accepted  the  appointment  of  chief  justice,  be 
lieving,  and  declaring  his  belief,  that  the  salary  of  this  office 
was  insufficient,  and  with  the  hope  that  it  would  be  in 
creased,  and  reserving  the  right  to  ask  from  the  Legislature 

the  Legislature,  and  the  official  communication  of  that  action  to  the 
Senate.  This  is  based  upon  a  well-known  legal  fiction  (that  of  treating 
the  whole  session  of  the  Legislature  as  one  day),  and  has  the  support 
of  one  precedent,  and  of  continued  practice  under  it." — Speech  of  the 
Honorable  James  A.  Bayard  on  the  Vermont  Senatorship,  February  1, 
1853,  pp.  3,  4,  5,  10.  Debates  of  the  first  session  of  the  Thirty-third 
Congress,  A.D.  1853. 

Mr.  Bayard,  in  his  able  speech,  above  quoted  from,  manifests,  per 
haps,  an  undue  fear  of  the  executive  power,  and  underrates  the  evil  of 
vacancies  in  State  representations  in  the  United  States  Senate. 

See  Appendix  for  a  notice  of  Kensey  Johns. 


564  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

its  augmentation.  After  devoting  his  abilities  and  legal 
knowledge  with  exemplary  diligence  to  the  discharge  of  his 
judicial  duty  for  two  years,  Mr.  Read  petitioned  the  Dela 
ware  Legislature,  in  1796,  for  such  an  increase  of  his  salary 
(in  accordance  with  the  intention  of  the  framers  of  the 
Constitution)  as  would  make  it  equal  to  the  annual  ex 
penses  of  himself  and  family,  of  which  it  had  fallen  short, 
and  which  expenses  had  not  much,  if  at  all,  exceeded  those 
of  the  thirty  preceding  years.  It  is  proper  to  add,  Mr. 
Read  states  that  he  had  been  told  that  a  reason  weighing 
much  with  the  Legislature,  when  fixing  the  amount  of  ju 
dicial  salaries,  in  1793,  was  that  the  value  of  the  judicial 
system,  just  adopted,  had  not  been  tested  by  experience, 
and,  that  it  might  be  so  tested,  he  had  delayed  his  petition 
for  two  years.  The  great  amount  of  business  in  the  Su 
preme  Court  during  these  two  years,  and  the  diligence  of 
its  judges  in  disposing  of  it,  appear  from  the  facts  Mr.  Read 
states,  that  actions  brought  to  the  next  preceding  terms 
had  been  tried  and  disposed  of  without  prejudice  to,  or  in 
terfering  with,  any  of  the  older  actions,  and  that  there  were 
ninety  original  writs  returnable  to  its  last  term.  Though 
the  committee  to  whom  this  petition  was  referred  reported 
favorably  upon  it,  no  increase  of  salary  was  made  by  the 
Legislature,  and  Mr.  Read,  in  1797,  again  petitioned  for  it, 
but  with  the  same  result. 

It  was  especially  as  a  judge  that  Mr.  Read  was  distin 
guished  ;  his  dispassionate  habits  of  reasoning,  his  patience 
in  hearing,  his  deliberation,  and  the  essential  requisites  of 
profound  legal  knowledge  and  deep  experience,  which  he 
possessed,  enabled  him  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  office 
with  honor  to  himself  and  advantage  to  the  community. 
When  he  assumed  the  office  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  State 
of  Delaware,  in  1793,  there  was  a  peculiar  necessity  for  a 
judge  of  firmness  and  ability.  The  period  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  and  that  which  followed  its  close,  were  marked  with 
perplexity  and  confusion.  The  courts  of  justice  were,  in 
some  degree,  closed,  and  the  master-spirits  of  the  age  were 
to  be  found  in  the  cabinet  or  the  camp.  Laws  were  silent 
amid  the  din  of  arms.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enumerate  the 
effects  of  such  confusion  upon  contracts  and  upon  rights ; 
but  the  duty  of  the  judge  was  little  less  than  the  reor 
ganization  of  a  legal  system  out  of  chaos.  This  arduous 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  565 

duty  was  performed  by  Mr.  Read  with  his  usual  ability, 
and  his  decisions  are  still  reverenced  in  the  State  of  Dela 
ware  as  the  great  land-marks  of  the  judiciary  and  of  the 
profession.  That  this  character  of  Mr.  Read,  as  a  judge,  is 
not  the  mere  fancy-sketch  of  his  descendant,  biased  by  his 
partiality  for  his  venerated  ancestor,  appears  by  the  fol 
lowing  statements. 

Daniel  Rodney,  formerly  associate  judge  of  the  Court  of 
Common  Pleas,  Governor  of  the  State  of  Delaware,  and  a 
member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  1844,  being 
then  in  his  eightieth  year,  said  to  me : 

"James  P.  Wilson,  an  eminent  lawyer  in  Delaware,  and 
afterwards  a  distinguished  Presbyterian  minister,  having 
studied  law  with  a  gentleman  of  the  same  political  party 
as  Dr.  James  Tilton,  who  was  hostile  to  Mr.  Read,  came  to 
the  bar  much  prejudiced  against  him,  but,  when  he  had 
practiced  two  years,  he  declared  to  me,  '  I  consider  George 
Read  not  only  the  best  judge  in  this  State  (Delaware),  but 
in  the  United  States,  for  talents,  knowledge  of  law,  and 
integrity.'  "* 

This  remarkable  testimony  of  Daniel  Rodney  is  confirmed 
by  another  witness,  who  received  from  Dr.  Wilson  the 
statement  of  his  violent  prejudice  against  Mr.  Read,  and 
the  total  change  of  his  opinion  from  observation  of  his  ad 
ministration  of  his  judicial  office.  This  other  witness  is 
Mrs.  Susan  Eckard,  daughter  of  Colonel  James  Read,  of 
Philadelphia,  deceased,  from  whose  letter,  recently  written 
to  me,  I  make  the  extract  on  the  next  page.  There  is  a  third 
witness  to  Dr.  Wilson's  exalted  opinion  of  Mr.  Read  as  a 
judge,  to  whom  he  communicated  it,  the  friend  Mrs.  Eckard 
mentions,  and,  though  I  have  not  his  evidence  from  himself, 
there  is  no  ground  to  distrust  it.  I  remark,  in  fine,  that 
these  three  testimonies  have  one  characteristic  of  verity, — 
substantial  agreement,  with  some  circumstantial  variety. 

*  I  will  not  suppress  what  Daniel  Rodney  added  to  this  statement, 
viz,,  that  James  A.  Bayard  said  "Judge  Read  could  not  decide  cases 
out  of  his  little  office."  His  earnest  desire  to  decide  rightly  may  have 
occasionally  delayed  unduly  his  decisions,  and  subjected  him  to  sneerrag 
remarks  like  this ;  but  the  fact  (stated  in  his  petition  to  the  Legislature 
for  increase  of  salary)  of  the  great  amount  of  business  disposed  of  in 
his  court,  in  the  first  years  of  his  service  as  chief  justice,  dissipates 
the  suspicion  it  may  excite  that  there  may  have  been  in  him  con 
siderable  defect  of  the  proper  and  due  promptitude  of  decision. 


566  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

"My  late  venerated  pastor,  Dr.  Wilson,  told  me  that 
'when  George  Read  was  placed  on  the  bench  (Dr.  Wilson 
was  a  lawyer,  and  a  violent  Democrat)  he  lost  several 
causes,  and  said  to  a  man  he  was  sure  would  repeat,  "that, 
now  George  Read  was  upon  the  bench,  he  should  never 
gain  a  cause."  I  was  completely  disarmed  by  this  mild  an 
swer  of  Mr.  Read  to  my  violent  remark :  "  Let  Mr.  Wilson 
be  careful  to  bring  just  cases  before  the  court,  and  he  will 
always  obtain  justice.'"  In  after-years  Dr.  Wilson  told  my 
friend,  the  late  General  Winder,  '  If  I  could  be  certain  of 
having  such  men  on  the  bench  as  George  Read,  I  would 
dispense  with  a  jury.'  When  that  pious  and  humble  Chris 
tian,  Dr.  Wilson,  called,  on  hearing  my  father  was  sick,  as 
he  seated  himself  by  his  bedside,  he  said,  'I  come  here  to 
be  instructed,  not  to  teach.' r 

Dr.  Wilson  was  as  distinguished  as  a  divine  as  he  had 
been  in  the  profession  of  the  law.  Acute  and  metaphysical, 
he  was  well  suited  to  teach  Christianity  in  the  phase  in 
which  it  was  held  by  the  Presbyterians.  His  unfeigned, 
humble,  and  ardent  piety,  and  most  faithful  discharge  of 
his  pastoral  duties,  won  for  him  the  warm  regard  and  the 
veneration  of  his  people, — the  large,  wealthy,  and  most 
respectable  first  Presbyterian  congregation  of  Philadelphia. 

When  more  than  half  a  century  has  elapsed  since  Mr. 
Read's  decease,  still  another  testimony  is  offered  to  his  char 
acter  as  a  judge  and  a  man.  The  writer  of  the  following 
letter,  the  Honorable  Willard  Hall,  long  eminent  at  the 
Delaware  bar,  has  for  many  years  filled  the  office  of  judge 
of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of 
Delaware  with  the  ability  and  integrity  becoming  that  high 
station.  Judge  Hall  migrated  from  New  England  to  Dela 
ware  so  soon  after  Mr.  Read's  death  that  he  received  the 
verdict  of  his  contemporaries  upon  his  character  while  their 
recollection  of  him  was  fresh  and  unfaded  : 

"WILMINGTON,  December  26th,  1857. 

"  DEAR  SIR, — When  I  settled  in  this  State  in  1803,  com 
mencing  my  professional  life,  the  name  most  frequently 
mentioned  in  my  hearing  ns  of  highest  authority  in  law 
was  that  of  your  grandfather.  In  the  estimation  of  the  bar, 
then  having  among  its  members  Bayard,  Rodney,  and 
others,  his  decisions  established  the  law ;  of  this  character 


OF   GEORGE   READ.  567 

they  were  cited  and  received.  It  would  give  me  great 
pleasure  if  I  could  communicate  any  matter  for  his  life 
which  you  are  writing.  Mr.  Killen  kept  no  diary  of  men 
or  events,  and  his  papers  contain  nothing  that  would  be  of 
use  to  you.  Having  searched  them  in  past  years  for  im 
portant  vouchers,  I  have  no  recollection  of  seeing  anything 
connected  with  your  grandfather,  although  in  speaking  of 
him  his  voice  concurred  in  the  universal  attestation  of  the 
high  standing  of  your  grandfather  as  a  man  and  as  a  judge; 
indeed,  his  station  among  men  was  as  elevated  for  exalted 
moral  worth  as  among  lawyers  for  legal  capacity  and  defer 
ence. 

"Very  respectfully  yours, 

"WILLARD  HALL. 
"  WILLIAM  T.  READ,  Esquire." 

On  the  21st  day  of  September  Mr.  Read's  long  life  of 
public  usefulness  was  terminated  by  a  sudden  and  short 
illness.* 

We  have  seen  this  eminent  man  distinguishing  himself 
at  the  bar  as  a  lawyer,  animating  his  fellow-citizens  against 
oppression  as  a  patriot,  taking  his  seat  in  the  national 
council  as  a  sage,  and  presiding  on  the  bench  as  one  of  the 
judges  of  the  land.  In  all  these  lofty  stations,  exposed  to 
the  strict  scrutiny  of  the  public,  that  invaluable  safeguard 
against  abuses  of  power,  no  blemish  was  discovered  in  his 
conduct.  Applause  at  the  bar  did  not  in  him  generate 
vanity,  success  in  political  life  ambition,  nor  the  dignity  of 
the  bench  dogmatism.  As  a  lawyer,  a  patriot,  a  statesman, 

*  He  was  interred  near  the  eastern  wall  of  Immanuel  Church,  New 
Castle,  Delaware,  where  his  family  have  worshipped,  and  in  the  vicinity 
of  which  they  have  been  buried  for  more  than  a  century.  His  monu 
ment  bears  this  inscription  : 

GEORGE  READ, 

Born  September  18th,  1734, 

Died  September  2lst,  1798. 

Member  oi'  the  Congress  of  the  Revolution, 

the  Convention  that  framed  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States, 
and  of  the  first  Senate  under  it; 

Judge  of  Admiralty, 
President  and  Chief  Justice  of  Delaware, 

and 
a  Signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 


568  LIFE    AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

and  a  judge,  he  was  alike  unpretending,  consistent,  dig 
nified,  and  impartial.  His  other  peculiar  characteristics 
were  an  inflexible  integrity  of  motive,  a  slow  and  calm 
deliberation  of  his  subject,  a  cool  determination  of  purpose, 
and  an  invincible  perseverance  in  the  conclusions  of  his 
judgment. 

Similar  traits  were  prominent  in  the  course  of  his  private 
life,  softened,  however,  by  those  social  amenities  which  so 
delightfully  relieve  the  sterner  features  of  the  patriot  and 
show  us  the  statesman  in  the  husband  and  the  father.  His 
manners  were  dignified,  and  his  dignity  may  have  occasion 
ally  bordered  upon  austerity.  He  avoided  trifling  occu 
pations,  disliked  familiarity,  and  could  not  tolerate  the 
smallest  violation  of  good  manners,  for  which  he  was  him 
self  distinguished.  A  strict  and  consistent  moralist,  he 
granted  no  indulgence  to  laxity  of  principle  in  others,  and 
he  was  remarkably  averse  to  that  qualified  dependence 
which  an  obligation  necessarily  produces.  Notwithstanding 
an  exact  attention  to  his  expenditure,  which  he  never  per 
mitted  to  exceed  his  income,  his  pecuniary  liberality  was 
extensive,  his  style  of  living  simple,  but  becoming  his  sta 
tion,  and  his  hospitality  generous,  while  it  was  not  indis 
criminate.  The  friendships  which  he  enjoyed — and  they 
were  many — were  remarkable  for  warmth  and  endurance, 
and  the  love  of  his  relatives  for  him  elevated  by  reverence. 

In  person  Mr.  Read  was  above  the  middle  size,  erect  and 
dignified  in  his  demeanor,  and  remarkable  for  his  attention 
to  personal  arrangements. 

In  fine,  he  was  an  excellent  husband,  a  good  father,  son, 
and  brother,  an  indulgent  master,  an  upright  judge,  a  fear 
less  patriot,  and  a  just  man. 

Mr.  Read,  as  he  informed  Governor  Clayton  (p.  5 1 7)  upon 
his  acceptance  of  the  office  of  Chief  Justice,  from  his  having 
sacrificed  his  time  too  much  to  the  public  service  (he  meant 
for  his  own  interest)  and  other  circumstances,  found  him 
self  at  a  very  advanced  period  of  life  in  possession  of  a  small 
estate,  which  had  not  been  augmented  prior  to  his  decease. 
Soon  after  it  occurred,  John  Dickinson  gave  a  valuable  farm 
to  the  widow  and  children  of  his  departed  friend,  and  with 
the  deed  by  which  it  was,  conveyed,  sent  the  following 
letter : 


OF  GEORGE   READ.       f  569 

"Mr  DEAR  FRIEND, — I  desire  thee  to  accept  the  inclosed 
[deed]  as  some  testimony,  though  an  imperfect  one,  of  high 
esteem  for  thyself  and  of  affectionate  reverence  for  the 
memory  of  our  beloved  friend. 

"  I  have  had  an  exact  survey  made  of  the  plantation  by 
two  surveyors,  from  which  it  appears  that  there  are  upon 
it  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  acres  of  woodland. 

"The  value  of  this  part  is  already  considerable  and  in 
creasing,  as  the  landing  at  Christiana  Bridge  is  only  two 
miles  distant,  and  for  the  preservation  of  the  wood  I  have 
rejected  every  offer  that  has  been  made  to  me  for  renting 
this  place. 

"  From  accurate  calculations,  made  with  judicious  per 
sons,  I  am  persuaded  that,  under  prudent  management,  at 
least  one  thousand  pounds  might  be  made  by  the  sale  of  the 
wood,  and  still  enough  be  left  for  the  use  of  the  farm. 

"  The  mansion-house  is  of  brick,  strongly  built,  and  two 
stories  high,  with  four  rooms  on  a  floor.  A  small  sum  would 
put  that,  the  kitchen  adjoining, — which  is  also  of  brick, — 
and  the  barn  and  stable,  into  sufficient  repair.  Some  trees 
planted  around  would  give  the  whole  a  handsome  appear 
ance. 

"  The  soil  is  favorable  for  grain ;  or  if  grazing  should 
be  preferred,  every  field  might  be  next  year  turned  into 
meadow. 

"  I  mention  these  particulars,  as  they  have  been  ascer 
tained  to  me  by  attention  and  conversation  with  experi 
enced  men. 

"With  the  warmest  wishes  for  the  happiness  of  thyself 
and  family,  I  am  thy  respectfully  affectionate  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON. 

"WILMINGTON,  sixth  month  25th,  1799. 

"  Mrs.  GERTRUDE  READ,  New  Castle,  Delaware." 

Mr.  Dickinson  further  manifested  his  undying  respect  for 
Mr.  Read's  memory  and  his  affection  for  his  family. 

Having  been  informed  that  the  office  of  John  Read,  Es 
quire,  respecting  British  debts,  was  about  expiring,  he 
waited  on  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  recom 
mended  his  continuance  in  this  place. 

Mr.  John  Read  thanked  Mr.  Dickinson  (April  8th,  1802) 
for  this  act  of  kindness,  "  it  having  been  the  happiness  of 

37 


570  LIffE  AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

his  father,  through  his  long  and  useful  life,  to  enjoy  his 
friendship,  and  a  great  consolation  to  his  family  that  it  had 
survived  him." 

Mr.  Dickinson  thus  replied  : 

"  MY  DEAR  FRIEND, — On  my  return  from  Kent  thy  letter 
of  the  8th  was  received. 

"The  information  mentioned  in  it  was  true,  and  I  was 
compelled  to  make  the  application  by  reverence  for  the 
memory  of  thy  beloved  father,  and  by  affection  for  his  relict 
and  children,  who  will  always  be  precious  to  my  heart  as 
long  as  it  shall  continue  sensible  of  anything  relating  to 
this  world. 

"  I  am,  with  sincerity,  thy  friend, 

"JOHN  DICKINSON.* 

"WILMINGTON,  the  12th  of  the  fourth  month,  1802. 

"  JOHN  READ,  Jr.,  Esquire,  Philadelphia." 

*  When  I  was  a  mere  boy,  Mr.  Dickinson  was  my  father's  guest  for 
a  few  days,  during  the  trial  of  a  suit  in  which  I  think  he  was  defendant, 
my  father  being  his  counsel.  I  have  a  vivid  impression  of  the  man, — 
tall  and  spare,  his  hair  wThite  as  snow,  his  garb  uniting  with  the  severe 
simplicity  of  his  sect  a  neatness  and  elegance  peculiarly  in  keeping  with 
it ;  and  his  manners,  beautiful  emanations  of  the  great  Christian  prin 
ciple  of  love,  with  the  gentleness  and  affectionateness  which,  whatever 
be  the  cause,  the  Friends,  or  at  least  individuals  of  them,  exhibit  more 
than  others,  combining  the  politeness  of  a  man  of  the  world,  familiar 
.with  society  in  its  most  polished  forms  and  with  conventional  canons 
of  behavior.  Truly  he  lives  in  my  memory  as  the  realization  of  my 
beau  ideal  of  a  gentleman. 


OF  GEORGE   READ.  571 


APPENDICES  TO  CHAPTER  VII. 


.A.. 
NOTICE    OF   KENSEY   JOHNS. 

KENSEY  JOHNS  was  born  at  West  River,  Anne  Arundel  County, 
Maryland,  on  the  14th  day  of  June,  A.D.  1759.  His  ancestor  migrated 
from  Wales  to  that  province  soon  after  its  settlement,  and  was  the 
founder  of  one  of  those  families  who,  transmitting  their  estates  for  many 
generations  from  father  to  son,  gave  to  the  gentry  of  Maryland  an  envi 
able  superiority  in  intelligence  and  refinement,  and  an  element  of  stability 
to  her  political  institutions. 

Mr.  Johns  was  admitted  to  the  bar  of  Delaware,  and  after  a  practice 
of  twelve  years  appointed  an  associate  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court, 
which  place  he  'filled  until,  upon  the  decease  of  Chief  Justice  Read,  in 
1798,  he  succeeded  him.  Judge  Johns  presided  for  thirty-ei^ht  years 
in  the  Supreme  Court,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  public,  deciding,  with 
his  colleagues,  questions  difficult  and  important,  and  term  after  term 
disposing  of  business  great  in  amount,  from  the  peculiar  circumstances 
of  the  period  immediately  succeeding  the  Revolution,  and  such  as 
would  appall  the  lawyer  in  these  days  of  diminished  practice.  On  the 
death  of  Chancellor  Ridgley,  Mr.  Johns  succeeded  him,  and  held  the 
chancellorship  until  the  change  of  constitution  in  1832.  During  this 
long  period  the  bar  of -Delaware  was  distinguished  by  ability,  knowl-. 
edge,  and  eloquence.  If  asked  what  characterized  Mr.  Johns  as  a 
judge,  I  should  answer,  unbending  impartiality,  and  as  a  man,  sagacity 
and  discretion,  which  led  him  to  right  conclusions  in  his  own  affairs, 
and  made  him  an  admirable  adviser  for  others.  He  was  a  member  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  and  rendered  her  service  in  her  ves 
tries  and  in  her  diocesan  and  general  conventions. 

With  faculties  unimpaired  almost  to  the  last,  in  his  ninetieth  year 
this  venerable  man,  surrounded  by  his  family,  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers,  in  the  confidence  of  a  certain  faith  and  in  the  comfort  of  a 
reasonable  religious  and  holy  hope. 

Judge  Johns  said  to  me  (27th  August,  1844),  "  I  was,  as  I  have  often 
told  you,  a  student  in  your  grandfather's  office,  having  entered  it  in 
1780.  His  '  Coke-Littleton'  was  in  the  old  black-letter.  When  I  had 
read  it  once,  I  asked,  'What  shall  I  read  next?'  'Read  it,'  said  he, 
'  again.'  I  read  it  the  second  time  and  asked,  '  What  next  ?'  '  Read  it 
the  third  time,'  said  he;  and,  perceiving  some  manifestations  of  repug 
nance  upon  my  part,  he  added,  '  for  this  is  the  well  whence  you  must 
draw  your  knowledge  of  the  law.'  Having  omitted  from  a  very  long 
deed  on  parchment,  which  I  had  drawn  by  Mr.  Read's  direction,  for 


572  LIFE   AND    COREESPONDENCE 

one  of  his  clients,  a  few  words,  which  might  have  been  easily  supplied 
by  insertion,  and  which  did  not  affect  the  instrument,  he  handed  it  to 
me,  merely  saying,  '  Write  it  over  again,'  which  I  was  obliged  to  do,  at 
the  cost  of  at  least  two  days  of  hard  labor.  But,"  added  Judge  Johns, 
"  he  made  a  lawyer  and  a  man  of  me." 

A  fellow-student  with  Judge  Johns  was  Ross  Thompson,  a  youth 
wild  and  heedless.  My  father  told  me  that  Ross,  whenever  in  the 
course  of  his  studies  he  encountered  a  difficulty,  walked  into  the  office 
(adjoining  the  one  occupied  by  the  students  of  Mr.  Read)  where  he 
usually  sat,  and  obtained  the  solution  he  ought  first  to  have  tried  to 
work  out  for  himself.  Mr.  Read,  after  bearing  for  a  long  time,  with  his 
accustomed  equanimity,  this  annoyance,  one  day  when  Ross  came, 
book  in  hand,  to  put  a  question,  took  him  by  the  arm,  led  him  to  the 
office  of  the  students  and  to  each  of  the  cases  of  books  around  it,  which 
he  opened,  and  having  pointed  to  their  contents,  bowed  with  great 
politeness  to  him  and  left  the  room.  Ross,  added  my  father,  felt  the 
rebuke,  took  the  hint  so  significantly  given  him,  and  ventured  no  more 
such  questions. 


PORTRAITS  OF  GEORGE  READ. 

THERE  are  two  portraits  extant  of  George  Read.  One  of  these  is 
in  possession  of  his  grandson,  William  T.  Read,  and  all  that  is  known 
of  its  history  appears  by  the  following  letter,  the  writer  of  which,  now 
deceased,  was  a  son  of  George  Ross,  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence. 

This  picture  seems  to  have  been  taken  when  Mr.  Read  had  attained 
middle  age.  The  attitude  is  graceful,  the  features  fine  and  very  intel 
lectual,  the  eyes  hazel,  and  the  expression  one  of  mingled  benevolence 
and  melancholy.  Good  judges  have  pronounced  it  a  fine  picture,  in  the 
style  of  Gilbert  Stewart,  and  his  sons  and  surviving  friends  considered 
it  a  good  likeness. 

"LANCASTER  (PENNA.),  January  18th,  1828. 

"DEAR  SIR, — Your  letter  of  the  22d  December  last  was  delivered  to 
me  by  Mr.  Barr,  to  whom  you  intrusted  it.  Mr.  McCrone  misappre 
hended  me.  I  did  not  inform  him  that  I  had  in  my  possession  the 
portrait,  but  told  him  such  a  picture  had  been  in  one  of  the  public  inns 
of  this  place,  and  to  inform  some  one  of  George  Read's  family,  if  they 
desired,  I  could  procure  it.  I  discovered  that  a  Mr.  Armstrong,  of  this 
city,  possessed  the  picture.  He,  at  my  instance,  called  on  me  with  the 
portrait  and  agreed  to  sell  it  for  ten  dollars,  which  sum,  after  receiving 
your  letter,  without  chaffering  about  the  price,  I  paid  him,  and  he  sent 
to  me  the  picture,  aifd  I  have  since  received  your  letter  covering  ten 
dollars. 

"  Mr.  Leonard  Eicholtz,  at  whose  house  the  picture  was  found,  re 
membered  seeing  it  about  ten  years  ago,  when  he  was  [first]  in  pos- 


OF  GEORGE  READ.  573 

session  of  the  house  he  now  lives  in,  which  belonged  to  his  late  father. 
It  was  found  in  a  garret,  among  some  old  and  useless  furniture.  He 
thought  it  of  so  little  consequence  to  him  that  he  made  use  of  it  to 
hang  over  a  hole  cut  in  one  of  his  chimneys  for  the  introduction  of  a 
stovepipe,  to  conceal  it.  Some  time  after  it  was  discovered  by  his 
brother,  a  limner  and  portrait-painter,  and  kept  by  him  in  his  study,  he 
believes,  to  improve  him  in  his  profession,  and  which  he  pronounced  to 
be  a  fine  painting.  He  likewise  discovered,  after  he  had  brushed  up 
the  picture,  the  name  'George  Read'  and  the  word  '  Baltimore.'*  (Bv 
a  close  inspection  you  may  see  them  on  the  left  side,  near  the  lower 
part  of  the  picture.)  Mr.  Eicholtz,  not  knowing  who  the  picture  repre 
sented,  or  where  the  person  represented  was  to  be  found,  [after  his 
brother  left  Lancaster]  placed  it  where  first  discovered.  About  eighteen 
months  after,  Mr.  Armstrong  happened  to  see  and  was  much  pleased 
with  it  as  a  fine  painting,  and  regretting  that  it  should  occupy  so  de 
grading  a  situation,  requested  Mr.  Eicholtz  to  let  him  have  the  picture, 
to  which  Mr.  E.,  he  being  an  acquaintance  for  whom  he  had  a  particular 
regard,  consented,  parting  with  it  gratuitously.  Hearing  accidentally 
that  this  portrait  was  in  Mr.  A.'s  possession,  last  summer  I  requested 
him,  by  my  son,  to  call  on  me  with  it,  as  I  thought  it  the  picture  of  a 
near  family  connection  of  mine.  He  came  as  requested,  and  I  observed 
the  words  '  George  Read,'  '  Baltimore,'  and  he  sold  me  the  picture  as  I 
have  stated.  Mr.  Eicholtz  regrets  that  he  had  not  the  pleasure  of 
restoring  this  picture  to  the  family  of  George  Read,  though  he  is  grati 
fied  in  having  been  instrumental  in  preserving  it,  and  that  it  is  now 
where  it  should  be.  With  respect  to  your  further  queries,  '  by  whom,' 
and  'when  and  where,'  and  'for  whom  painted,'  I  cannot  give  any 
account. 

"  I  hope  you  will  excuse  any  inaccuracies  in  this  letter,  and  attribute 
them  to  my  age  and  forgetfulness,  being  now  in  my  seventy-sixth  year. 
"I  am,  devotedly,  yours  and  the  family's  obedient  servant, 

"  GEORGE  Ross. 

"  To  WILLIAM  T.  READ,  Esquire,  Centre  Hall,  near  New  Castle, 
Delaware." 

The  other  portrait,  in  the  possession  of  the  daughter  of  the  late  Mr. 
William  Read,  of  Philadelphia,  was  painted  by  Robert  Edge  Pine.  It 
was  considered  by  Mr.  Read's  family  to  have  an  expression  of  stern 
ness  not  his.  His  daughter,  Mrs.  Pearce,  when  she  first  saw  this 
picture,  exclaimed,  "Take  away  that  Saracen's  head  !"  The  following 
letter  contains  a  sufficient  account  of  this  portrait: 


CASTLE,  May  30th,  1792. 

"  MADAM,  —  My  son  will  wait  upon  you  and  advise  as  to  the  finishing 
of  my  portrait,  if  necessary,  and  then  receive  it.  I  have  transmitted 
Mr.  Pine's  receipt  for  the  fifty  dollars  paid  in  1785,  and  have  given 
directions  for  the  payment  of  the  remaining  six,  equal  to  twenty-seven 
shillings  sterling.  I  was  guilty  of  great  omission  in  not  seeing  you 
before  I  left  Philadelphia,  in  the  beginning  of  this  month,  as  I  had  seen 

*  On  a  letter  he  is  represented  as  holding. 


574  LIFE   AND    CORRESPONDENCE 

the  young  ladies,  your  daughters,  on  an  evening  visit  to  Mrs.  Trist,  who 
reminded  me  of  the  portrait  being  still  with  you,  and  of  your  intention 
to  go  to  Europe ;  and  I  then  said  I  would  wait  on  you  ere  I  departed, 
but  a  scene  of  hurry  in  the  conclusion  of  the  public  business  soon  ensued, 
and  this  promise  escaped  my  memory.  I  wish  you  and  your  family  a 
safe  and  pleasing  voyage,  and  I  am,  with  esteem, 

"  Your  very  humble  servant, 

"  GEORGE  READ. 
"Mrs.  M.  PINE,  Philadelphia." 

I  am  indebted  to  "Putnam's  Xew  Monthly  Magazine,"  of  October, 
1855,  vol.  vi.,  for  the  following  account  of  Pine: 

"  A  few  octogenarians  in  Philadelphia  used  to  speak  of  a  diminutive 
family,  the  head  of  which  manifested  the  sensitive  temperament,  if  not 
the  highest  capabilities,  of  artistic  genius.  This  was  Robert  Edge  Pine 
[a  native  of  England].  He  was  considered  a  superior  colorist,  and  was 
favorably  introduced  into  society  there,  by  his  acknowledged  sympathy 
for  the  American  cause,  and  by  a  grand  project,  such  as  was  afterwards 
executed  by  Trumbull, — that  of  a  series  of  paintings,  illustrative  of  the 
American  Revolution,  to  embrace  original  portraits  of  the  leaders,  both 
civil  and  military,  in  that  achievement,  including  the  statesmen  who  were 
chiefly  instrumental  in  framing  the  Constitution  and  organizing  the 
government  under  it.  He  brought  letters  of  introduction  to  the  father  of 
the  late  Judge  Hopkinson,  whose  portrait  he  executed,  the  vivid  tints 
and  resemblance  to  the  original  of  which  still  attest  to  his  descendants 
the  ability  of  the  painter.  In  the  intervals  of  his  business  as  a  teacher 
of  drawing  and  portrait-painter,  he  collected  from  time  to  time  a  large 
number  of  heads  of  distinguished  persons.  Of  these  the  heads  of  Gen 
eral  Gates,  Charles  Carroll,  Baron  Steuben,  and  Washington  are  the  best 
known  and  most  highly  prized.  Pine  remained  three  weeks  at  Mount 
Yernon,  and  his  portrait  bequeaths  some  features  of  Washington  with 
great  accuracy.  Artists  find  in  it  certain  merits  not  discernible  in  those 
of  later  date.  It  has  the  permanent  interest  of  a  representation  from 
life  by  a  painter  of  established  reputation,  yet  its  tone  is  cold  and  its 
effect  unimpressive  beside  the  more  bold  and  glowing  creation  of 
Stewart's  pencil.  It  has  repose  and  dignity.  In  his  letter  to  Washing 
ton,  asking  his  co-operation  in  the  design  he  meditated,  Pine  says,  '  I 
have  been  some  time  at  Annapolis,  painting  the  portraits  of  patriot 
legislators,  patriot  heroes,  and  beauties,  in  order  to  adorn  my  large 
pictures ;'  and  he  seems  to  have  commenced  his  enterprise  with  sanguine 
hopes  of  one  day  accomplishing  his  object,  which  it  was,  however, 
reserved  for  a  native  artist  to  complete.  That  his  appeal  to  Washing 
ton  was  not  neglected  is,  however,  evident  from  an  encouraging  allusion 
to  Pine  and  his  scheme  in  the  correspondence  of  the  former.  '  Mr.  Pine,' 
he  says,  '  has  met  a  favorable  reception  in  this  country,  and  may,  I  con 
ceive,  command  as  much  business  as  he  pleases.  He  is  now  preparing 
materials  for  the  historical  representation  of  the  most  important  events 
of  the  war.'  Pine's  picture  of  Washington  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
Hopkinson  family  of  Philadelphia.  The  facsimile  of  Washington's 
letter  proves  that  it  was  taken  in  1785.  A  duplicate  was  purchased  in 
Montreal,  in  1817,  by  the  late  Henry  Brevoort,  of  New  York." 


OF  GEORGE  HEAD.  575 

O. 
MANSION,  MEANS,  AND  STYLE  OP  LIVING. 

THE  mansion  of  Mr.  Read  commanded  an  extensive  view  of  the 
river  Delaware  (of  the  width  of  two  and  a  half  miles  or  more),  since 
obstructed  by  the  houses  erected  along  the  river-front  of  New  Castle. 
So  near  was  his  house  to  the  Delaware  that  when  the  tide  was  high 
one  wheel  of  a  carriage  passing  the  street  in  front  of  it  was  in  the 
water,  and  in  violent  storms  its  waves  were  dashed  against  the  build 
ing.  This  mansion  was  an  old-fashioned  brick  structure,  looking  very 
comfortable,  but  with  no  pretensions  to  elegance.  It  contained  a 
spacious  halj,  on  one  side  of  which  was  a  large  parlor  or  drawing-room, 
on  the  other  Mr.  Read's  office,  behind  it  the  dining-room  of  sufficient 
size,  and  in  its  rear  a  large  kitchen.  The  extensive  garden  ran  back  to 
the  grounds,  where  were  the  stables  and  other  out-buildings.  The 
garden  was  kept  with  great  care,  for  Mrs.  Read  had  both  fondness  and 
taste  for  horticulture,  and  was  proud  of  her  profusion  of  flowers,  es 
pecially  her  tulips,  of  great  variety  and  beauty.  This  mansion  was 
burned  in  the  fire  which,  in  1824,  laid  in  ashes  almost  half  of  New 
Castle.  Its  ruins  were  subsequently  removed,  and  there  is  not  now  a 
trace  of  it  visible.  Here  Mr.  Read  resided  for  many  years  in  the  style 
of  the  colonial  gentry,  who,  even  when  having  no  more  than  the  mod 
erate  income  of  Mr.  Read,  maintained  a  state  and  etiquette  which  have 
long  disappeared.  The  furniture,  though  plain,  was  in  the  style  of  its 
clay,  and  there  was  the  necessary  plate — both  dinner  and  tea  services — 
and  the  hospitality  becoming  Mr.  Read's  station  maintained.  How 
could  this  be,  Mr.  Read  not  being  affluent  ?  His  income  would  buy  far 
more  then  than  now,  and  he  had  a  small  farm,  which  furnished  fuel  and 
other  necessary  articles  for  housekeeping,  and  there  were  two  lots  near 
New  Castle,  which  afforded  pasture  for  horses  and  cows,  and  some  hay; 
besides,  he  generally  owned  his  servants.  The  out-door  affairs  were 
managed  by  a  brother  of  Mr.  Read,  an  old  bachelor,  rough  in  his  man 
ners  (for  he  had  followed  the  sea),  but  of  very  kind  heart. 


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